XII Commercial Geography - Minerals

Introduction
It has been rightly said that world commerce of today would be impossible without minerals.Mining,being a basic industry provides a firm base from the growth in various sectors of the economy.Minerals are the backbone of modern industry.The heavy machines and transporting vehicles are all built and run by minerals.

Pakistan is rich in minerals resources,but these immense potentials remained unexploited over the years.Now the Government is adopting new policy measures to give a boost to this sector.In order to encourage mineral exploration in the country,a mineral co-ordination board (MCB) was established in 1979 to co-ordinate public sector agencies and the private sector.

Pakistan has considerable deposits of non metallic mineals,including rock-salt,gypsum,china clay,limestone and marble.Metallic minerals found in some quantity are chromite antimony,copper and iron etc.

1. Iron Ore
Usage:
Iron tops the list of capital goods and plays a vital role in the economic development of a country.The entire economic activities of a country revolve around this basic material.Today,iron touches man's life from the cradle to grave.Indeed man today is almost entirely dependant on iron for his civilized existence.

Occurrence:
Iron ore deposits occur at many localities .The more important are discussed below:

KalaBagh Iron Ore:
Occurs near Kalabagh in the Surghar Range and near Sakesar in the Salt Range.They are the largest deposits in Pakistan but the ore is of low grade (30.35 percent iron) and of irregular composition.Reseves are estimated at about 300 million tonnes.

Dommel Misar:
Magnitite deposits in Southern Chitral,about 30 kilometers south of Drosh ,have an iron content of 55.65 percent.Reserves are estimated at 3 million tonnes.

Langrial,Galdanian And Abbotabad Ore:
Langrial iron deposits are in the vicinity of Langrial village in haripur tehsil,about 30 kilometers south of Abbotabad.The iron content varies widely between 0 and 50 percent .The Galdanian deposits,about 15 kilometers north-east of abotabad have an average iron content of 20 percent.Iron content yardes from 14.46 percent.Total reserves in Hazara Distric are estimated to be mere than 100 million tonnes.

Chighazi Magnitite Deposits:
Of various magnitudes have been discovered in Chigai District,near Dalbandin .Reserves of high grade ore (56 percent iron or more ) are estimated over 3 million tonnes and of low ore (25.38 percent iron) at 20 million tonnes.

2. Chromite
Usage:
Chromium is used in the making of stainless steel ,high speed tools and precision instruments,dyes and in photography.

Occurrence:
Pakistan leads the world in chromite production.Large deposits of chromite occur in the Muslimbagh area of the Zaob valley.Those are the best known of the chromite deposits in Pakistan and have been extensively exploited .Khanozai and Jang Torgarh are important mines .Other deposits are in Chagai and Kharan,where the total deposits amount to 10.000 tonnes.

In addition to the above Peshawar division deposits amount to 14,000 tonnes.




3. Copper
Usage:
Copper ranks next to iron in importance because of its many industrial uses.It was used for making coins and domestic utensils in the past.Now a days it is used in the manufacture of electric goods,telephone wires,refrigerators etc.

Occurrence:
The deposits of copper have been found at Sandak and Amuri in Chaghai districts of Baluchistan.Sandak deposits are estimated to be 412 million tonnes.At present copper is not being extracted commercially in our country but it is hoped that in near future we shall be able to produce copper in sufficient quantity with foreign collaboration.




4. Rock Salt and Brine
All the rock salt deposits in Pakistan occur in the salt range.The most important mines are:

(a) Khewra Mines:
Khewra is the most extensively worked area with seams attaining thickness of as much as 18 metres.Present production is 220,000 tonnes a year.

(b) Karcha Mines:
The mine has five seams,with a maximum thickness of 15 metres and produces 40.000-45,000 tonnes a year.

(c) Kalabagh Mines:
The seams are irregular and contorted and production is about 12,000-16,000 tonnes a year.

(d) Jatta,Bahadurkhel and Karak Salt Deposits:
Production from this area almost equals that of the Warcha mines.The reserves,however,are thought to be very large.

Salt is also obtained from brine and salt.Lakes,but the amount obtained from these sources is relatively small compared with that of rock salt.Salt is harvested in the Tharparkar area of Sindh and obtained by evaprating sea-water at Mauripur,near Karachi,and along the Makran and Lasbela coasts large deposits of concentrated brine have been discovered at Dharyala near Khewra.Various chemicals and fertilizers may be manufactured from this brine.

5. Gypsum
Usage:
Gypsum is also an important mineral of our country .It is used for the manufacturing of cement,plaster of paris, fertilizers and in various other industries.It is also used to regain the fertility of soil in water-logged and salinity areas.

Occurrence:
Gypsum is in our country is found in a large quantity.Mianwali,Jhelum,Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab,Quetta and Sibi in Baluchistan,Kohat in N.W.F.P are the main producers,but some quantity of Gypsum is also found in Bahawalpur (punjab) ,Dadu and Sanghar districts (in Sindh) ,Dera Ismail Khan in (N.W.F.P)

The total reserves of Gypsum found in our country are estimated at about 350 million tonnes.




6. Limestone
Usage:
Limestone is the chief raw material of lime ,cement,bleaching powder,glass,soap,paper,paints,steel etc.

Occurrence:
Limestone deposits constilute a large part of the sedimentary rocks of Pakistan.Although limestone is wide spread,some areas have more concentrated deposits.These includes:

1.In N.W.F.P: Kohat,Nowshera,Pezu and Mughal Kot.

2.In Baluchistan: Loralal and Harnal.

3.In Punjab: Salt Range,Zinda pir,Margalla Hills.

4.In Sindh: Mango Pir,Marli Hills,Cape Monze,Rani Pir.

Total annual production is about 3.5 million tonnes.




7. Marble
Usage:
It is mainly used as a building and decorative stone.

Occurrence:
Pakistan exports marble manufactured items to a large number of countries around the world.In various parts of our country good quality marble in a wide range of colours is found.

(a)Peshawar Division Deposits:
Good quality marble of white and various other colours in found at two places:

a) Shahidmena area and

b) Kumbela Knwar area.

(b) Mardan District Deposits:
Best known deposits of marble,usually white and of uniform texture is found at two places :

a) Gundari Tarko and

b) Maneri.

(c) Nowshera Area Deposits:
Pink coloured marble of low quality is found.Total reseves amount to 3.8 million cubic ft.

(d) Quetta Area deposits:
Large deposits of green,yellow and white marble are found total reserves amount to 1,80,000 tonnes.

A few deposits also appear in Chaghal district of Baluchistan and Muzaffarabad areas of Azad Kashmir. The reserves of green marble deposits are about 8.6 million cubic feet and reserves of other qualities are estimate about 700 million tonnes.