Page 48 - SST Class 04

Metallic Minerals
A metallic mineral is a metal. It is normally solid, hard and heavy. It can be beaten into
a shape, that is, it can be made into a wire, sheet, tool, machine, ornament etc. Some of
the important metallic minerals are iron, copper, tin, zinc, bauxite, silver, gold etc.

Iron : Iron is so important a metal that the present age is called
the Iron Age after its name. It is used for making different types

of tools, machines, vehicles, engines, bridges, railway lines etc.
India is the world’s ninth largest producer of iron ore. It is
mainly found in the states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Goa. An iron mine

Iron ore is refined in iron and steel plants. India exports iron to many countries
including Japan. The seaports at Paradeep, Vishakhapatnam and Marmagosa are used

for this purpose.

Important iron and steel plants in India are located at :

u Bhilai (Chhattisgarh)
u Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
u Jamshedpur and Bokaro (Jharkhand)

u Rourkela (Odisha)

u Salem (Tamil Nadu)
u Bhadravati (Karnataka) etc. Tata steel factory

Copper : Copper is a soft metal and is used for making electric wire, utensils and tools.
It is mainly found in the states of Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Manganese : Manganese is used to harden iron into steel. India is a large producer of
it. It is found in the states of Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra etc.

Bauxite : From bauxite, aluminium is extracted, with which utensils, electric wires and
aeroplanes are made. India has large reserves of bauxite.

In addition to the above, some other important metallic minerals found in India are
gold, silver, zinc and lead. They are not produced in India in a large quantity. We have
to import them to meet our needs.

Non-Metallic Minerals

Important non-metallic minerals include coal, petroleum, Know It!

sulphur, phosphorus, salt, mica, gypsum, diamond, limestone v Diamond is the hardest
etc. Uranium and thorium are also included among non- mineral.
metallic minerals and are called atomic minerals .

48 Contemporary Social Science-4