Question

Name a few mineral-based industries of India.

Answer 1

Hint: Mineral based industries are major industries that use mineral ores as their raw materials. Iron and steel is the crucial industry of the modern world.

CompleteAnswer:
1. Iron and Steel Industry:
Iron and steel industry is a basic industry which is the backbone of industrial development of the country.
The Tata Iron and Steel Company ( TISCO ) plant at Jamshedpur is the oldest in the country. Coal originates from Jharia mines in Jharkhand. Labour force for the plant mainly comes from Jharkhand and Orissa. China is the largest producer of iron and steel.

2. Copper Smelting Industry:
It was in the year 1857, that the Singhbhum Copper Company was formed to launch mining systems at Saraikela.
The Khetri Copper Complex at the foothills of Aravallis in Rajasthan created by the HCL was formed to affect the Khetri-Singhbhum ores. The unit comprises Khetri and Kolihan mines, an identical concentrator plant, smelter, electrolytic refinery and wire bar casting plants. The Khetri Copper Complex is an integrated copper mining- cum-metallurgical unit—by-product is sulphuric acid and fertiliser threefold superphosphate is also generated.

3. Aluminium Industry:
The Alupuram Reduction Works of the Indian Aluminium Company is the first aluminium industry in India.Besides mining of ore, the aluminium industry has four distinct stages.

4. Lead and Zinc Smelting Industry:
The main origin of lead and zinc ores, in India, is the Zawar deposits of Rajasthan. The paucity of ore reserves has been greatly accountable for the relatively slow growth of the lead-zinc smelting industry in the country. Two smelters, the Debari zinc smelters of Udaipur and the Vizag lead smelter plant at Visakhapatnam are under production.

5. Cement Industry:
Cement is a significant infrastructure which is one of the most developed industries in the country. It is made primarily from limestone and clay, and other raw materials comprise shale, coal and gypsum. Sludge from fertiliser plants, blast furnace slag and sea-shells are utilized instead of limestone in some cement plants.

Note: The iron and steel industry forms the root of all other industries and, therefore, it is called a basic industry. It is the fundamental industry, because it offers raw material for other industries such as machine tools used for additional production.