Question.
Why do we need to conserve mineral resources?
( Chapter - 5 Minerals and Energy Resources, Cass X NCERT Contemporary India -II )
Answer.
Minerals are resources that are very important to every area of our lives. Mineral resources include metallic, nonmetallic, and energy minerals. Some examples of mineral resources are iron ore, bauxite, coal, petroleum, limestone, sodium, potassium, sulfur, etc.
The need for the conservation of mineral resources is due to the following reasons:
Mineral resources have limited reserves and constitute about one percent of the earth's crust.
The formation of mineral resources requires millions of years, but the consumption rate is very high compared to the replenishment rate of minerals. Due to the consumption rate of mineral resources being much higher than the replenishment rate, mineral resources are depleting very fast.
Mineral resources are finite and non-renewable and are extremely valuable for the development of a country and for living organisms. Almost all organic and inorganic organisms contain some part of minerals and they also use it, be it food, needles, or airplanes. All three sectors of the economy, be it agriculture, industry, or service sector, are directly and indirectly dependent on minerals.
Energy resources such as coal and petroleum are basic to economic development and the depletion rate of these resources is very high, hence there is a great need for conservation.
Following are some of the ways of conservation of mineral resources:
The use of mineral resources should be planned and used in a sustainable manner.
Improvements in technology are needed to improve the efficiency of resource use. Efficiency in technology will reduce the consumption of resources as well as reduce waste.
There is also a need to invest in technological development that enables the use of low-grade ore to be successful at a low cost. For example, there is a huge shortage of coking coal (metallurgical coal) in our country because it requires the best quality coal (anthracite) which is not found in India. Coking coal is required in the iron and steel industry and for this, we are dependent on other countries like Australia for this, we have to pay huge amounts which makes iron and steel manufacturing expensive. If we find a way to make coking coal from the low-grade coal available to us, then we can get rid of the shortage of coking coal.
Recycling metals and using scrap metal are essential in all spheres of life.
There is also a need to make substitutes for minerals in order to preserve the mineral for future use. For example, we can use wood or plastic in place of metal; We should use solar energy instead of petrol.
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