Mining is an important industry in Pakistan. Pakistan has deposits of several minerals including coal, copper, gold, chromite, mineral salt, bauxite and several other minerals. There are also a variety of precious and semi-precious minerals that are also mined. These include peridot, aquamarine, topaz, ruby, emerald, rare-earth minerals bastnaesite and xenotime, sphene, tourmaline, and many varieties and types of quartz. [1]
The Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation is the responsible authority for the support and development of the mining industry. The Gemstones Corporation of Pakistan looks after the interests of stake holders in gemstone mining and polishing as an official entity. Balochistan has the most mineral deposits among the provinces of Pakistan, with Sindh rich in coal deposit and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rich in gems. Oil, gas and minerals used in nuclear energy purposes are mined by the federal government. The mining of other minerals is a provincial concern. Currently around 52 minerals are mined and processed in Pakistan. [2]
Salt has been mined in the region since 320 BC. The Khewra Salt Mines are among the world's oldest and biggest salt mines. Salt is mined at Khewra in an underground area of about 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi). Khewra salt mine has an estimated total of 220 million tonnes of rock salt deposits. The current production from the mine is 325,000 tons of salt per annum.
In Reko Diq, Balochistan, deposits of copper and gold are present. Antofagasta, the company which possesses the Reqo Diq field, is targeting an initial production of 170,000 metric tons of copper and 300,000 ounces of gold a year. The project may produce more than 350,000 tons a year of copper and 900,000 ounces of gold. There are also copper deposits in Daht-e-Kuhn, Nok Kundi, located in Chaghi District.
Iron ore is found in various regions of Pakistan including Nokundi, Chiniot, Kalabagh the largest one, Haripur and other northern areas. [3]
In February 2015, reserves were found in Chiniot, around 160 kilometres northwest of Lahore, by a Chinese group, the Metallurgical Cooperation of China. A senior provincial administrative official told AFP that initial estimates indicated 500 million tonnes of iron ore had been discovered. The extracted iron had been tested in Swiss and Canadian laboratories, which were successful in finding 60-65 percent of it to be high grade. [4] [5]
A number of precious stones are mined and polished for local as well as export purposes. The centre point of this operation is Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and most recently Gilgit-Baltistan. These include actinolite, hessonite, rodingite, agate, idocrase, rutile, aquamarine, jadeite, ruby, amazonite, kunzite, serpentine, azurite, kyanite, spessartine (garnet), beryl, morganite, spinel, emerald, moonstone, topaz, epidote, pargasite, tourmaline, garnet (alamandine), peridot, turquoise, grossular, quartz (citrine and other varieties) and vesuvianite. The export earned from these gems is more than 200 Million dollars. [6]
Mining in Pakistan is a dangerous job, especially coal mining, as safety procedures are often neglected and accidents are quite common. There is air pollution with no modern safety equipment such as breathing equipment or ventilation. Nearly all miners have lung problems and many suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning. But the main causes of death and injury are falls from cliffs, being buried when mines collapse and being hit by falling rocks. [7]
Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. The ore must be a rock or mineral that contains valuable constituent, can be extracted or mined and sold for profit. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water.
Tourmaline is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a wide variety of colors.
Peridot, sometimes called chrysolite, is a yellowish-green transparent variety of olivine. Peridot is one of the few gemstones that occur in only one color.
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains the most important source of tin today.
Pakistan Chrome Mines Ltd. is a mining company that owns and operates Chromite and Magnesite mines in Balochistan Province. It was initially incorporated as Baluchistan Chrome Mines Ltd in 1902 during colonial rule.
Pakistan has coal deposits in Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan provinces. The total coal resources there are reported to be approximately 185 billion tonnes.
Mining in Brazil is centered on the extraction of iron, copper, gold, aluminum, manganese, tin, niobium, and nickel. About gemstones, Brazil is the world's largest producer of amethyst, topaz, agate and is a big producer of tourmaline, emerald, aquamarine, garnet and opal.
The mining of minerals in Nigeria accounts for only 0.3% of its gross domestic product, due to the influence of its vast oil resources. The domestic mining industry is underdeveloped, leading to Nigeria having to import minerals that it could produce domestically, such as salt or iron ore. The rights to ownership of mineral resources is held by the Federal Government of Nigeria, which grants titles to organizations to explore, mine, and sell mineral resources. Organized mining began in 1903, when the Mineral Survey of the Northern Protectorates was created by the British colonial government. A year later, the Mineral Survey of the Southern Protectorates was founded. By the 1940s, Nigeria was a major producer of tin, columbite, and coal. The discovery of oil in 1956 hurt the mineral extraction industries, as government and industry both began to focus on this new resource. The Nigerian Civil War in the late 1960s led many expatriate mining experts to leave the country. Mining regulation is handled by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, who are tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the management of all mineral resources in Nigeria. Mining law is codified in the Federal Minerals and Mining Act of 1999. Historically, Nigeria's mining industry was monopolized by state-owned public corporations. This led to a decline in productivity in almost all mineral industries. The Obasanjo administration began a process of selling off government-owned corporations to private investors in 1999. The Nigerian Mining Industry has picked up since the "Economic Diversification Agenda", from Oil & Gas, to Agriculture, Mining, etc., began in the country.
A birthstone is a gemstone that represents a person's period of birth, which is usually the month or zodiac sign. Birthstones are often worn as jewelry or as a pendant necklace.
Mining in Afghanistan was controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, prior to the August 15th takeover by the Taliban. It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emeralds, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion of untapped minerals.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to mining:
Gemstones have been found in Greenland, including diamond, ruby, sapphire, kornerupine, tugtupite, lapis lazuli, amazonite, peridot, quartz, spinel, topaz, and tourmaline. Most of Greenland's ruby and sapphire occurrences are located near the village of Fiskenaesset/Qeqertarsuatsiaat on the southwest coast.
The Reko Diq Mine is a planned mining operation, located near Reko Diq town in Chagai District, Baluchistan, Pakistan. Reko Diq represents one of the largest copper and gold reserves in the world having estimated reserves of 5.9 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.41% copper and gold reserves amounting to 41.5 million oz, and a mining life of at least 40 years.
The geology of Pakistan encompasses the varied landscapes that make up the land constituting modern-day Pakistan, which are a blend of its geological history, and its climate over the past few million years.
There are many types of gemstones of Pakistan. They can be found among the nation's three mountain ranges - the Hindu Kush, the Himalayas, and the Karakoram - in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The gemstone industry in Pakistan has the city of Peshawar as its hub, and there are many companies working in it.
The mining industry of Madagascar is mostly on a small scale, centred mainly around remote locations with large mineral deposits. Mining potential is noted in industrial and metallic minerals, energy, precious and semi-precious stones, as well as ornamental stone. The mining sector was neglected by the government for decades prior to the mid-2000s. In 2013, the mining industry, a main source of foreign investment, was struggling due to "low metals prices and distrustful companies", attributed to a 2009 coup.
Aquamarine is a pale-blue to light-green variety of the beryl family (mineral), with its name relating to water and sea. The color of aquamarine can be changed by heat, with a goal to enhance its physical appearance. It is also the birth stone of March and has lots of historic culture.
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