Maarg Manthan · Topic 20.3

Mining and Quarrying

Geography › Economic Activities and Industrial Location · Topic 20.3

Mining is the extraction of minerals from the earth, and quarrying is the extraction of stone, sand and other building materials. The choice of method depends on the depth and form of the deposit: open-cast or surface mining for shallow deposits and underground mining for deep ones. Mining depends on demand, the value and quality of the mineral, accessibility, technology and cost, and it raises serious environmental and social issues. India regulates it under the MMDR Act, 1957.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Economic Activities and Industrial Location

At a Glance

Surface mining Open-cast, strip mining, quarrying
Underground mining Shaft and drift mines
Law MMDR Act, 1957; amended several times
Local benefit District Mineral Foundation
Hazards Land loss, mine fires, tailings, accidents
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Economic Activities and Industrial Location

Where Does It Fit?

This is the third topic of the macro on economic activities and industrial location. The previous topics covered agriculture and pastoral activities, and this one covers the extraction of minerals. The next topic covers secondary activities and the classification of industries. Previous topic: Types of Agriculture. Next topic: Secondary Activities and Classification of Industries.

What Factors Affect Mining, and What Are the Methods?

In short: a mineral is mined only where the deposit is rich enough, close enough and cheap enough to reach.

Factors: the demand for the mineral and its price; its value, because high-value minerals such as gold and diamond can be mined even if remote; the size, grade and shape of the deposit; accessibility and the cost of transport; the technology available; labour and capital; and government policy and environmental rules.
Open-cast or open-pit mining: removing the surface layers to reach minerals near the surface, used for iron ore, bauxite, coal and limestone. It is cheap, fast and safe for workers, but disturbs large areas of land. Strip mining is the removal of long strips of overburden; quarrying is open-cast mining of stone, slate, sand and gravel.
Underground (shaft) mining: used when the deposit lies deep, through vertical shafts and horizontal tunnels, called drifts or adits, with ventilation and roof support. It is costly and dangerous, with risk of fires, gas explosions and collapse, but disturbs less of the surface.
Other methods: placer mining of river and beach sands, dredging, and deep-sea mining, a new frontier, as in copper, cobalt Regulator International Seabed Authority,…">Ocean Deposits and Mineral Resources.

Mining is typically located in places that are remote from consumers, so it creates mining towns, railways and ports, such as Dhanbad and Kalgoorlie. When a deposit is exhausted, the town may decline, as at the Kolar gold fields, as in Archaean Rock System of India.

How Is Mining Regulated in India?

Instrument	Key point
MMDR Act, 1957	Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act: regulates the grant of mining leases and the development of minerals; the central government controls major minerals, and states control minor minerals such as sand and building stone
Amendments	2015: auctions for the grant of leases and the setting up of District Mineral Foundations; 2021: ended captive restrictions, allowing captive mine owners to sell part of their output; 2023: critical minerals, offshore areas and removal of some atomic minerals such as lithium and beryllium from the list of those reserved for the state; further changes since
National Mineral Policy, 2019	Promotes exploration, private investment and sustainable mining, a National Mineral Exploration Trust, and the use of the star rating of mines
District Mineral Foundation	A trust in mining districts funded by a share of royalty to benefit people affected by mining, spending on health, drinking water and education
Environment	Environmental clearance, forest clearance and mine closure plans

India produces about 95 notified minerals, including fuel, metallic, non-metallic, atomic and minor minerals, and the mining belt of the eastern plateau of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh is the heartland, as in Peninsular Plateau and Minor Plateaus. Coal and iron ore are the biggest by value. Auctions of mineral blocks have raised the revenue of the states, and the mission for critical minerals has led to the auction of blocks for lithium, rare earths and other minerals, as in Lithium and Strategic Minerals.

What Are the Problems of Mining?

Land and forest loss: mining consumes forest and farmland and displaces tribal communities. The Supreme Court’s Samatha judgment of 1997 protected tribal lands in Scheduled Areas from transfer to private mining firms.
Pollution: dust, water pollution from acid mine drainage and tailings, and the destruction of aquifers; underground fires in the Jharia coal field have burned for over a century.
Illegal mining and bans: the Supreme Court stopped mining in the Bellary region of Karnataka in 2011 and in Goa in 2012 because of illegalities, which cut iron ore output for some years. The National Green Tribunal banned rat-hole mining in Meghalaya, narrow horizontal tunnels in coal seams, in 2014 after deaths, but the practice continued and led to the Ksan mine tragedy of December 2018.
Safety and sensitive areas: accidents and the question of mining in the Aravalli hills and the Western Ghats, as in Hill Ranges of the Peninsular Plateau.
Remedies: scientific mine closure and land reclamation, afforestation, use of the District Mineral Foundation funds, star rating of mines, and the shift to cleaner technology.

As an analytical point, the mining belts of India overlap with the poorest districts and the forests with the highest tribal population, so mineral wealth has often not meant local prosperity. Policy must therefore link the auction of mineral blocks with the rights of the communities, strict environmental rules and a fair share of royalty, which is the purpose of the District Mineral Foundation and the Forest Rights Act.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Facts Methods and law asked
Policy Auctions and DMF
Environment Impacts and bans

What Came Next?

The next topic describes secondary activities and the classification of industries. Next topic: Secondary Activities and Classification of Industries.

Key People and Terms

Open-cast mining Surface extraction
Shaft mining Deep underground extraction
Quarrying Extraction of stone and sand
Overburden Rock above the mineral
DMF District Mineral Foundation
Rat-hole mining Narrow tunnel coal mining

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Shallow deposits: open-cast; deep deposits: underground.
MMDR Act is from 1957.
DMF shares royalty with affected people.
Rat-hole mining is banned in Meghalaya.
Jharia coal fires are long-burning.

Do Not Confuse With

Mining and quarrying Minerals versus stone and sand
Shaft and drift mines Vertical versus horizontal entry
Major and minor minerals Centre versus state control

Memory Hook

Shallow – strip it; deep – shaft it; share the royalty, mend the land.

Mains Angle

Questions ask about mining and sustainability. These points add depth.

Method Open-cast versus underground
Law Auctions and DMF
Balance Wealth versus rights and ecology

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Discuss the methods and environmental problems of mining and evaluate the measures taken in India to make mining sustainable and inclusive.”

How to Answer

Methods Surface and underground.
Law MMDR and amendments.
Problems Land, pollution, safety.
Reform DMF, closure, rating.

GS Relevance

Prelims: methods of mining, factors, MMDR Act amendments, DMF, environmental impacts. GS Paper 1: economic geography; GS Paper 3: mineral policy, environment and displacement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between mining and quarrying?

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals such as coal, iron ore, bauxite and gold from the earth, by surface or underground methods. Quarrying is the extraction of stone, slate, sand, gravel and other building materials from open pits, and it is a form of surface mining.

What are the main methods of mining?

The main methods are surface mining, including open-cast or open-pit mining, strip mining and quarrying, used for shallow deposits, and underground mining through shafts and tunnels, used for deep deposits. Surface mining is cheaper and safer, while underground mining disturbs less of the surface but is more costly and dangerous.

What factors determine whether a mineral is mined?

Mining depends on the demand and price of the mineral, its value, the size and grade of the deposit, accessibility and the cost of transport, the available technology, labour and capital, and government policy. High-value minerals can be mined in remote places, while low-value ones need nearby markets.

What is the District Mineral Foundation?

The District Mineral Foundation is a non-profit trust set up in mining districts under the 2015 amendment of the MMDR Act. It receives a share of the royalty paid by mining leaseholders and uses it for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining, such as drinking water, health and education.

What is rat-hole mining?

Rat-hole mining is a method of extracting coal in Meghalaya through very narrow horizontal tunnels dug into hill slopes or from small pits, in which workers crawl in to cut the coal. It is unsafe and environmentally damaging, and the National Green Tribunal banned it in 2014, though it continued illegally.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 Open-cast mining is used for deposits near the surface.

True

Overburden is removed.

2 Quarrying is the extraction of petroleum.

False

It is the extraction of stone and sand.

3 Sand and building stone are minor minerals controlled by the states.