Natural Resources
West Bengal stands third in the country in terms of mineral production. The state contributes about one-fifth to the total production of minerals in the country. Coal constitutes 99% of the minerals extracted in West Bengal; fireclay, china clay, limestone, copper, iron, wolfram, manganese and dolomite are mined in small quantities. There are good possibilities of obtaining mineral oil and natural gas in the areas near the Bay of Bengal, in Purba Medinipur, Sundarbans, South 24 Parganas and North Bengal plains. Research is undergoing for finding natural gas in various places.
West Bengal is the third largest state for coal production, accounting for about half of India's total. Coal is extracted from about 228 mines in the Raniganj and Asansol region of Bardhaman district. High garde bituminous coal is mined at Raniganj, Dishergarh, Santaldih, Kulti, Barakar, Ghushik, Kajora. Coalfields stretch over an area of about 1,550 km2 (598 sq mi). The coalfields of Raniganj support the Asansol-Durgapur industrial belt by providing fuel to the industries as well as generation of thermal power. Lignite mined in Darjeeling is used to make briquettes. Coal deposits are also found along the Ajoy river in Birbhum district.
West Bengal ranks next to Bihar and Madhya Pradesh in production of fireclay. Most of this mineral is extracted in the Raniganj region along with few amount is also extracted from Birbhum and Purulia. China clay used in the pottery, paper, textile, rubber and paint industries are unearthed at Mohammad Bazar in Birbhum and Mejia in Bankura. Rest of the production comes from Purulia, Bardhaman, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri. In 1993-94 1.24 lakh metric tonnes of fireclay were fireclay were produced in West Bengal.
Limestone which is used in cement industry is mined in Bankura, Purulia, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri. There are copper mines in Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. Small quantities of low quality iron-ore are mined in Bardhaman, Purulia, Birbhum and Darjeeling. There are manganese in the Jhargram region of Paschim Medinipur, Purulia and Bardhaman. Wolfram is mined at Jhilimili in Bankura. The state’s production of dolomite comes from the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri. 38.5 thousand tonnes of dolomite were raised in 1993-94.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of West Bengal
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