SSC CGL Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Minerals and Energy
Where India's iron ore, bauxite, coal and other minerals lie, which minerals India lacks, and the oil fields, power stations and renewable sites SSC names.
Why this matters
Eighteen questions in the bank, and 13 of them come from the 2025 shifts. Those papers asked mostly about iron ore and bauxite, as place-to-mineral matches and true-or-false statements, so learn each mineral with its districts and its rock.
Concept 1 of 2: Minerals and where they lie
Definition
Iron ore (India has the largest reserves in Asia, of both haematite and magnetite):
- Odisha: Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar. Jharkhand: Singhbhum. Chhattisgarh: the Bailadila range.
- Karnataka: Bellary-Hospet and Kudremukh. Most reserves lie in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Goa.
Bauxite: found in laterite on the plateaus and hills of the peninsula; Odisha is the largest producer.
Coal: most of it is Gondwana coal of the Damodar valley (Jharia, Bokaro, Raniganj). Lignite, a soft, brown, low-grade coal, comes from Neyveli in Tamil Nadu.
Others:
- India is short of non-ferrous metals: copper, lead and zinc. Hindustan Copper Ltd was set up in 1967.
- It is rich in non-metallic minerals (limestone, mica, gypsum) used by major industries.
- The Himalayan belt holds copper, lead, zinc and cobalt; Rajasthan holds most of the building stone.
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Minerals and Energy
Bauxite is not Dharwar, and not Jharkhand's
Concept 2 of 2: Coal grades, oil fields and power
Definition
The facts:
- Coal grades, best first: anthracite, bituminous, then lignite (brown, soft, wet).
- Oil: Digboi (India's oldest field), Naharkatiya and Moran are in Upper Assam, in the North-East.
- Talcher thermal power station is in Odisha.
- Tidal energy suits the Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf of Kutch and the Sundarbans, where the tides rise high in narrow inlets.
- Solar power has low running costs; the Kamuthi plant in Tamil Nadu (648 MW) is one of the largest single-site plants.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Minerals and Energy
Lignite is the lowest grade
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Watch out for (2)
- Bauxite is not Dharwar, and not Jharkhand's→ Minerals and where they lie
- Lignite is the lowest grade→ Coal grades, oil fields and power
Test yourself on Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.