Minerals
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.
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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.
