Natural Resources Of Pakistan
Natural resources are the resources that exist without actions of humankind. On earth it includes, sunlight, atmosphere, water, land (includes all minerals) along with all vegetation, crops and animal life. All these mentioned above are natural, and they exist in nature no human created them. Natural resources can be consumed directly or indirectly.
Natural resources can be classified into various types. Mainly they are divided into two categories A-biotic resources and biotic resources. The biotic resources consist of plants, animals and microorganisms whereas the A-biotic resources include nonliving materials such as soil, land, metals, water and minerals. Other common categorization of natural resources is renewable resources and nonrenewable resources. Renewable resources are those natural resources that can be replaced by nature over a period of time. Nonrenewable sources are those natural resources that are available only in limited amounts and are not easily replaced by nature. Also read provinces of pakistan
Mineral Resources Of Pakistan
After independence of Pakistan, only a few mineral resources that were exist in the country. So with the help of different surveys, the presence of different resources has been confirmed. The mineral resources of a country are valuable means and measures for its economic and industrial growth. These resources are important for Pakistan because of its favorable geological environment. Pakistan has a widely geological frame work that includes a number of zones hosting several metallic minerals, industrial minerals, precious and semi-precious stones. As a result of various efforts that were made for the development of mineral sector, several mineral resources have been discovered in different areas of Pakistan, including world-class resources i.e. coal, copper, Iron, gypsum, rock salt etc.
Mineral industry in Pakistan requires Government support for the exploration and extraction of minerals. However, the government shows full interest in developing the mining sector. An institution named Geological survey of Pakistan is established in Pakistan for the mapping and investigation of different mineral resources in a particular area. The province of Sindh has large quantities of minerals. In all there are 24 minerals which are being mined at present.
The province also has large quantities of coal and granite reserves. Karunjhar Range of Mountains in Nagar parkar has huge reserves of granite and other types of rocks which has the potential to compete the international market. Some the mineral resources of Pakistan are given:
Coal
Mining of coal began in 1887 in different areas of the present Pakistan. After independence very small quantity of coal was taken out but with the passage of time more mines of coal have also been discovered. The coal found in our country is of poor quality. Coal is used in thermal power station and in furnaces for making bricks. The coalfield in the Sindh province has huge coal resources of about 175 billion metric tons.
About 80 percent of the coal found in our country is used in bricks and lime burning kilns and some quantity is used for Railway and for domestic purpose. Now a day’s approximately 80 percent of cement industry has also switched over to indigenous coal from furnace oil that has saved considerable foreign exchange being spent on the import of furnace oil. The conversion of cement industry from furnace oil to coal has generated a demand for 2.5 to 3.0 million metric tons coal per annum. Coal mines are available in Makerwal (Punjab), Mach and Degari (Baluchistan), Thar Lakhra and Jhimpir coal mines (Sindh).
Natural Gas
Natural gas is an important source of energy. It is a great blessing of nature especially for Pakistan which is deficient in the production of mineral oil. Natural gas production is at a high level in Pakistan. Under the barren mountains of Baluchistan are untouched gas reserves that were discovered in 1952 at Sui district Dera Bugti in Baluchistan province and the commercial exploitation of the field began in 1955. Estimated reserves are 885.3 billion cubic meters (as of January 2009). The Sui gas field is the largest; accounting for 26% of Pakistan’s gas production.
Daily production is 19 million cubic meters a day. The main use of gas is that it is used for thermal electricity, in cement industry, fertilizers industry and for commercial and domestic purposes. After the discovery of gas, the Indus gas company laid a pipe line from Sui to Karachi in order to supply gas to industrial and domestic consumers. Another company named Sui northern completed a pipe line from Sui to Multan in 1958.Later on it supplied to the other cities. Major users of natural gas are Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Mineral Salt
Salt is being mined in the region since 320 BC. Salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt. It is essential for life in general and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. The Khewra Salt Mines are among the world’s oldest and 2 ndbiggest salt mines. Khewra Salt Mine is situated in Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil of Jhelum District. The mine is in mountains that are part of a
salt range, a mineral-rich mountain system extending about 200 km from the Jhelum River south of Pothohar Plateau where the Jhelum River joins the Indus River. Khewra salt is also known as Himalayan salt. It is red, pink, off-white or transparentcolor. Khewra salt mine has an estimated total of 220 million tons of rock salt deposits. The current production from the mine is 325,000 tons of salt per annum. It is used for cooking, as bath salt, as brine and as a raw material for many industries. Salt from Khewra mine is also used to make decorative items like lamps, vases, ashtrays and statues, which are exported to the United States, India and many European countries. It has great commercial value.
Copper & Gold
Baluchistan deposits of copper and gold are present in Reqo Diq. The Reko Diq mine is located near Reko Diq town in Chagai District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Reko Diq represents one of the largest copper reserves in Pakistan and in the world having estimated reserves of 5.9 billion tons of ore grading 0.41% copper. The mine also has gold reserves amounting to 41.5 million metric tons. Antofagasta the company having possession of Reqo Diq field is targeting initial production of 170,000 metric tons of copper and 300,000 ounces of gold per year. The project may produce more than 350,000 tons a year of copper and 900,000 ounces of gold per year. The lease agreement has been terminated with Said Company by the government of Pakistan. There are also presences of copper deposites in Daht -e- Kuhn, Nokundi, located in Chaghi district.
Iron
Ore Iron is another mineral resource of Pakistan. Although iron is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel and 98% of the mined iron ore is used to make steel. 11 February, 2015 the reserves of iron were found in Chiniot, around 160 kilometres northwest of Lahore. 165 million tons of iron ore reserves had been discovered.
The extracted iron had been tested in Swiss and Canadian laboratories to find that about60 to 65 percent of iron contents is to be high grade. Iron ore is found in various regions of Pakistan including Nokundi, Chinot, and the largest one in Kalabagh (Less than 42% quality), Haripur and other Northern Areas. It is used primarily in structural engineering applications and in maritime purposes, automobiles, and general industrial applications.
Lime Stone
Limestone is made up of calcium carbonate. Pakistan has rich deposits of limestone which are found in different regions. The limestone reserve of Pakistan is huge and therefore its production is increasing rapidly. Limestone production was 13,150,127 tons (2003-04), 14,857,479 tons (2004-05) and 18,427,706 tons (2005-06). Limestone is used in the manufacturing of lime, bleaching powder, glass, soap, paper, paints etc. The most important ranges of limestone are Trans-Indus salt Range, the Potwar plateau and Margallah hill. Read more
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