The Imalia polyphase polymetallic deposit, located in the Mahakoshal belt of Central India, is hosted by carbonate rocks. The major part of mineralisation at Imalia results from hydrothermal activity induced by the intrusion of quartz porphyry dykes, which also formed an alteration halo of silicate and oxide minerals during their interaction with the host lithology. The initial silicates to form were hydrothermal Ca-amphibole and a minor amount of garnet, followed by potassic phases including biotite and K-feldspar, as well as rutile, apatite, titanite, pyrite, magnetite and rare calcite and ilmenite. A subsequent, cooler pulse of hydrothermal fluid overprinted the earlier-formed silicates and was responsible for the bulk of the sulphide mineralisation at Imalia. During this transformation phase, propylitic silicates primarily consisting of chlorite and epidote, along with a modest proportion of actinolite, albite, titanite, sericite and calcite, formed, accompanied by iron-rich oxide phases including magnetite, hematite and ilmenite. These silicates mostly formed under high water-to-rock ratios with significant meteoric water influence. Geothermometric and fluid inclusion data indicate that alteration zone minerals formed at temperatures between approximately 150°C and 550°C, at pressures of around 1 kbar and depths of less than 10 km, with a mean oxygen fugacity of log f O 2 -32, closely aligned with the FMQ buffer. The alteration zone minerals record the evolution of hydrothermal fluids in a predominantly brittle structural regime, characterised by episodic decompression due to fluid overpressuring and hydrofracturing, as evidenced by various types of breccias, diverse quartz veins, open space-filling textures and fluid inclusion data.

The Au-Sn-bearing, polymetallic sulfide deposit at Imalia in the western part of Mahakoshal belt, Central India is hosted by recrystallized dolostone and subsidiary phyllitic dolostone. These host rocks are transected by shallow level intrusion of quartz porphyry dykes. There are two major N-S trending ore zones (similar to 1.5 km cumulative length) and a subsidiary-one, confined to fractures and shears in the dolostones or along its contact with the intrusive dykes. Polyphase mineralization include: irregularly disseminated pyrite crystals of diagenetic/metamorphic origin, patchy to stringery Pb-Zn sulfide ores showing pervasive metamorphic fabric, dominant massive vein type pyrite-arsenopyrite ores with significant amounts of invisible gold and tin. Other ore minerals include cassiterite, molybdenite, wolframite and roquesite in a magnetite-rich oxidic halo, and electrum, enargite/luzonite, wittichenite, ourayite, eclarite, aikinite and idaite in the sulfidic veins. Some tentatively identified ore minerals in these veins include calaverite, proustite, famatinite, sakuraiite, and tenorite. Pyrite contains structurally located invisible gold as high as 17.6 ppm whereas arsenopyrite contains a maximum of 20-24 ppm Au. Pyrite also contains unusually high Sn (upto 2673 ppm). The mineralogical assemblage of rare phases and their paragenesis in the Imalia vein type ores reflect the high sulfur (log fS(2) = -9 to -13 bar) and oxygen (logfO(2) = -32 bar) fugacities at a temperature range of 350 degrees C to 250 degrees C (according to thermometric calculations) during their emplacement.

The ore deposits that form by sedimentary (diagenetic) processes may develop in the exogenous environment, transported from varying distances as terrigenous clastics into the basin or zone of deposition, and are termed as allochthonous deposits. In contrast, there are other deposits of ore metals which generate in the environment in which they are deposited and are termed as autochthonous deposits. In the first group, belong the mechanically concentrated placer deposits (alluvial, beach and eluvial) and their ancient counter-parts, the quartz pebble conglomerate-type paleo-placer deposits which may concentrate Au, PGE, monazite (Th, REE), Sn, Ti (rutile, ilmenite), zircon and precious stones (e.g., diamond, ruby). The second group, on the other hand, includes various chemical (+ bio-chemical) precipitates, such as the banded iron formations (BIFs), the sedimentary manganese deposits, stratiform/sedimentary copper deposits, and uranium to name the most important ones in economic terms, as well as the products of present and past marine metallogenesis. They also include products of evaporative deposition such as rock salt, gypsum and K-salts, as well as, diagenetic modification of organic remains and carbonates such as the phosphate deposits, magnesite and dolomite deposits (Deb and Sarkar, 2017).

The Vindhyan Basin in central India preserves a thick (~5 km) sequence of sedimentary and lesser volcanic rocks that provide a valuable archive of a part of the Proterozoic (~1800–900 Ma) in India. Here, we present an analysis of key sedimentary pyrite textures and their trace element and sulfur isotope compositions in the Bijaigarh Shale (1210 ± 52 Ma) in the Vindhyan Supergroup, using reflected light microscopy, LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP-SI, respectively. A variety of sedimentary pyrite textures (fine-grained disseminated to aggregates, framboids, lags, and possibly microbial pyrite textures) are observed reflecting quiet and strongly anoxic water column conditions punctuated by occasional high-energy events (storm incursions). Key redox sensitive or sensitive to oxidative weathering trace elements (Co, Ni, Zn, Mo, Se) and ratios of (Se/Co, Mo/Co, Zn/Co) measured in sedimentary pyrites from the Bijaigarh Shale are used to infer atmospheric redox conditions during its deposition. Most trace elements are depleted relative to Proterozoic mean values. Sulfur isotope compositions of pyrite, measured using SHRIMP-SI, show an increase in δ34S as we move up stratigraphy with positive δ34S values ranging from 5.9‰ (lower) to 26.08‰ (upper). We propose limited sulphate supply caused the pyrites to incorporate the heavier isotope. Overall, we interpret these low trace element signatures and heavy sulfur isotope compositions to indicate relatively suppressed oxidative weathering on land during the deposition of the Bijaigarh Shale.

Delhi, capital of the world’s largest democracy, is witnessing large-scale increase in population since the beginning of the twentieth century. Two prominent factors that have contributed to this include the shifting of capital of the British Raj from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi in 1911 and the partition of India that accompanied its independence in 1947. Delhi continued to witness high rate of migration in postindependent India due to uneven implementation of development policies. Rising population led to spatial expansion and the largest connotation of Delhi today (National Capital Region) is an area 36 times its size in 1947. Rising population has also had an adverse impact on Delhi’s natural resources. Consequently, clean air, water and land availability have become limited and Delhi today is undergoing a severe sustainability crisis. The latter requires urgent intervention for restoring Delhi’s urban ecosystem. Since urban areas are highly contested ecological spaces, urban ecological interventions are incomplete without political overtones. Thus, the success of urban ecological interventions lies in identifying politically correct boundaries which encompasses true ‘urban Delhi’ despite the political boundaries. This research contribution attempts to identify the geographical expanse of ‘urban Delhi’ amidst the various political terminologies that define Delhi. An understanding of various divisions and definitions of Delhi is also presented from the perspective of appreciating the challenges in urban planning. We conclude that urban ecology investigations in Delhi should be embedded within the ‘Delhi conurbation’, which represents a geographical area greater than the Delhi city-state but much smaller than Delhi NCR.

Nonrenewable natural resources – metallic and non-metallic minerals, industrial rocks and energy resources (both organic and inorganic), have been treated in a holistic manner in this book, including

Iron, and hence iron ores, have played a very important role in the history of human civilization, because of which the latter has been named “Iron Age”.Iron Age The principal types of iron ores are variously enriched hematite-dominated banded iron formation (Superior type) and variously modified magnetite-dominant banded iron formation (Algoma typeType algoma ). The Superior type deposits mainly formed during late Archean-early Proterozoic period. Algoma type is somewhat older. India’s iron ore depositsOre deposit , with an estimated reserveReserve of 28 Gt, are concentrated in South India, Central India, and Eastern India. Mn ores, principally oxides to hydroxides, formed during separate events from early Proterozoic to recent (Mn-nodules) in South Africa, Brazil, Ghana, Gabon, India, and countries of previous USSR. Genetically the deposits are hydrothermal, sedimentary (-diageneticHydrothermal diagenetic ), and of supergene Supergene enrichment. Chromium, obtained from chromite, is essentially magmatitic (orthomagmaticOrthomagmatic ) in origin and chromite deposits are commonly associated with mafic–ultramafic rocks. Out of India’s reserves of 139 Mt of chromite ores, >90% is located in eastern India and the rest in south India. Bulk of gold in nature forms in the “native state”, which does not mean 100% purity in reality. Alloying with Ag (and Hg) is common. Most ores form from hydrothermal fluids of primary and secondary origin and as placers (and nuggets). Gold is reported from different parts of India, but the largest yield came from the Kolar Kolar gold field in Karnataka amounting to 800 t Au. Copper mineralization was recorded from the Singhbhum copper beltSinghbhum copper belt , occurring in association with altered volcanic rocks, now interpreted by some to represent an IOCGIOCG situation. Khetri copper deposits are associated with metasediments. MalanjkhandMalanjkhand Cu(–Mo) deposit is associated with calcalkaline granitic rocks. SEDEXSEDEX -type Pb–Zn deposits of Rampura-Agucha, Rajpura-Dariba, and Zawar belt were deposited in Paleoproterozoic sediments of Rajasthan. All these deposits are regionally metamorphosed in grades varying from granulite to upper greenschist facies. Total reserves of Pb–Zn ores were estimated to be 685.59 Mt in 2010. Mineralization of Sn, W, Nb, Ta, Li, Be, F, and REEREE occur in the pegmatites of Bastar-Malkangiri beltBastar-Malkangiri belt , Bihar mica beltBihar mica belt and Rajasthan-Gujarat areas. Monazite in the beach sands Beach sands of South India is a good source of REE. The same sands are also endowed with large Ti resource in the form of ilmenite and rutile. India is one of the five major Al-ore containing countries of the world. Bauxite is of residual origin produced from Al-rich rocks. In India, the principal belts of bauxite are located along the East coast, Central India, and the West coast. Warm and wet climate with good drainage favor bauxitization.

The concept of Sustainable Development Sustainable development evolved through the efforts of the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) during the period 1982–1987 and rested on two basic premises: the issue of “need” for the deprived section of society and “limits” on the ability of the environment to satisfy the need of the present and future generations. Formally, Sustainable Development was defined as: “the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own need.” The scope of this definition was widened in the World Summit of Johannesburg in 2002 to include “economic development, social development and environmental protection at local, regional and global levels.” Many interpretations of Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable development were put forward in later years, but they were all based differently on the foundation of these “three pillars of sustainability.” More recently, Sustainable Development is understood in terms of complex systems which require nonlinear, organic approach and is not to be considered as a target to be achieved. The concept of sustainable development, however, has had an ambiguous relationship with the extractive industryExtractive industry because of its intrinsic nature, leading to negative consequences. But can our modern societies do without the earth materials for industrial use? Can we really do away with mining? The answer is obvious even to the layman. Hence, the challenge of “Sustainable Development in the Mines and Minerals sector” is to ensure “environmental responsibility” during mining and processing, in which the damage to the environment (including social environment) is to be balanced with the Earth’s capacity for accommodating it. Some well-accepted prescribed steps need to be followed in this regard to achieve sustainable developmentSustainable development of mineral resources, keeping in mind the valuable guiding principles of reduce, replace, and recycle. “Free prior and informed consent” of all the stakeholders must be obtained by the mining industry if development is to be truly sustainable. Further, an alternative interpretation is required for a better understanding of the relationship between sustainable developmentSustainable development and mining: a natural resource capital (a mineral or fuel resource) is converted by mining into an economic capital which can be reinvested to create or enhance other forms of capital, as exemplified by the “Alaska Fund.” Fast depletion of mineral resources and their long-term availability has been a serious concern for some time now, particularly since ecological footprintEcological footprint of humanity and limits to growthLimits to growth became the focal points of international debate. Though the proponents of “fixed stock paradigm”Fixed stock paradigm draw a gloomy picture, discovery of new deposits, advancement of technology and more use of low-grade material have extended the life expectancies of mineral resources. While social costs may limit the use of mineral commodities in future, per capita material throughputs of rich nations must be reduced if sustainable development should become a reality.

Energy resources are essential for the sustenance of the human society as much as it is needed for the life and existence of an individual. Energy resources are of two kinds: renewable (solar, hydro-power, wind, tidal, biofuels) and the nonrenewable energy sources comprise coal, natural gas and petroleum, and nuclear raw materials. Geothermal energy is a continuous form of energy source. The world derives 2/3 of its produced energy from the fossil fuelsFossil fuels and 1/3 from the nonfossil type, i.e., hydro-energy + nuclear energy. While the exhaustion of the nonrenewable energy sources is slated, that of the renewable variety appears inexhaustible. Coal (±lignite) provides 2/5 of the fossil fuels going for the production of electrical energy and there lies the main root of the global warming problem. Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock having both organic (C org ≥ 50%) and inorganic components. Humic coalCoal humic forms from different mixtures of macroscopic plant debris, whereas sapropelic coalCoal sapropelic forms from selected types of microscopic plants. CoalificationCoalification : plant debris (biochemical changes) peat → (geochemical changes) → coal. Petrographic components: vitrain, clarain, durain, and fusain. Of the world's total reserves of 848 Gt, India's share is 284 Gt. However, it is generally high ash and noncoking. Bulk of India's coals was deposited in Gondwana basinsGondwana basins of Permo-carboniferous age. Add to these a proven reserveReserve of 6.1 Gt of lignite in the Tertiary basins. Crude oil or petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbons that remains liquid at atmospheric pressures. It is lighter than water. Chemically crude oil is made up of carbon (~85%), and hydrogen (13%) and the rest made up of S, O, N along with some trace metals. The constituent hydrocarbon molecules are alkanes, napthanes, and aromatic compounds including benzene. Oil and natural gas are produced from phytoplanktons deposited on water-sediment interface and modified by (bio-) geochemical and geochemical processes. Oil and gas formed at infinite number of points in the host rock and then migrated and accumulated in the low pressure zones (reservoirs). Although India identified 26 oilfields on its rightful areas, it produces about 1/3 of its requirements from its wells. India has a very good reserve of gas hydratesGas hydrates within its EEZExclusive economic zone (EEZ) . After the WW II around the middle of the last century, the world saw the advent of another kind of fuel for energy (electrical) production. It was nuclear energy, accounting for about 16% of world energy today. In fact, it is the heat produced by fission of nuclei of suitable radioactive elements, such as U and Th that is utilized in heating water, creating steam that would rotate turbines and produce electricity. The positive thing about it is that the whole operation is "clean" and a plant runs for about 30–40 years with an initially high but later moderate cost. But two recent disasters in such plants, one at ChernobylChernobyl , Ukraine (1986) and the other at FukushimaFukushima , Japan (2011) have shaken the faith in this kind of energy source for many prospective users. Toward the end of 2014 India was having 20 nuclear power plantsNuclear power plants in operation in the country. India is at an enviable position with respect to the provision of Th resources in the form of monazite in the beach sandsBeach sands of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. But its own reserve of U ores is not encouraging. India's main source of indigenous U ores lies in the Singhbhum Cu–U belt in eastern India. The Cuddapah basin in Andhra Pradesh is now showing promising potential in this respect.

Soil is an essential natural resource for the existence of life on Earth. The Science dealing with soil is Pedology. Soil is a complex aggregate of inorganic ± organic matter occurring at or close to the Earth’s surface. Soil is, however, defined differently for different purposes. Soil formed even in the Archean time, but was modified subsequently. The soil section starting from the surface layer to the protolith is called soil profileSoil profile . Texturally, soil is referred to three end members: sand, soil, and clay. Major composition of the soil and their relative proportions are given as follows: O > Si > Al > Fe = C = Ca > K > Na > Mg > Ti > N > S. Soil essentially forms by the decomposition (with/without transport of the products) of the exposed rocks. Commonly organic matter is added to the upper horizons. The following factors play important roles in the formation of soil: climate, activity of organisms, nature of the protolith, topography, and duration of the exposure time. There are a number of systems of classification of soils, including one proposed by FAO. However, many countries prefer to use their own system(s), based on the ground reality. Soil erosion is the worst hazard in the case of soils. Erosion means removal of the upper fertile part of the soil, by natural or human interference. A grass cover is a natural protection for the soil. Despande and Sarkar (2009) estimated the different soil types of India as follows: alfisols 13.55%, inceptisols 39.74%, aridisols 4.3%, entisols, 28.1%, vertisols 8.5%, and ultisols 2.5%. Conditions of soil formation being different in different parts of the country, nature of soil in India varies widely from place to place.

India is a country endowed with rich mineral resources, producing as many as 87 mineral commodities (including energy-producing minerals). The country is self-sufficient in bauxite, chromite, iron and manganese ores, ilmenite, rutile, coal (except coking coal) and lignite, and almost all industrial minerals. Along with barite and limestone, these are among the ten largest mineral reserves of the world. The structure of the Indian M & M sector has evolved considerably in the last two and half decades, since the liberalization of the economy and opening up of the sector to private domestic and foreign investment. The mineral commodities are thus extracted through large and small mines, which belong to either public or private sector enterprises. There is also a large informal sector of artisanal and small-scale miningSmall-scale mining (ASM), whose status remains rather ambiguous in the present regulatory regime. ASM operations need to be regularized by the government, acknowledging their livelihood and poverty alleviation potential. Mining, thus, is an important sector in Indian economy and contributed about 2.6% to the GDP in 2011. Since then the sector is, however, in a negative growth path with a substantial reduction in the number of operating mines. Various reasons have been ascribed to this decline. They include: regulatory issues, environmental activism and court cases, social unrest due to land acquisition problems and displacement, and Naxalite violence along the "Red corridorRed Corridor " in east-central India. The M & M sector is currently struggling to recover its earlier growth rate by streamlining regulatory and administrative procedures, developing the required infrastructure and taking care of the issues of sustainability. The framework of various regulatory provisions and policies governing this sector need to be understood to appreciate the issues in this regard. The 7th schedule of the Constitution includes Article 246 which categorizes the Union, State and Concurrent lists of responsibilities under which regulations of mines and mineral development fall. Thus, the proprietary control of onshore mineral resources is with the state government while the regulatory powers are with the central government. All mining activities in the country are controlled by the National Mineral PolicyNational Mineral Policy while the basic laws governing the mining sector come under the purview of the Mines & Minerals Development and Regulations (MMDR) Act. The other Acts concerned with mining are: Environment Protection Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Act, Forest Conservation Act, Land Acquisition, and related Acts and Panchayats Act (PESA). The regulatory regime is thus quite wide and complex, with duality of control exercised by the state and central governments. This consequently leads to divided accountability and poor implementation of the laws. The marine mineral resources are exploited keeping the "UN convention on the Law of the Sea"Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in view. It divides the sea into three parts: the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone (EEZExclusive economic zone (EEZ) ), and the international area of the seabed. The coastal nations have exclusive rights to exploit marine resources up to their respective EEZs.

Nonmetallic and industrial minerals are the essential raw materials for a number of industries. GemstonesGemstones have been in demand throughout much of human history. Nonmetallic and industrial minerals are divided into the following groups: refractory minerals, fertilizer minerals, minerals used in cement industry, chemical industry, electrical industry, glass and ceramic industry, abrasive industry, and those used as fillersFillers and pigments, and as building stones. Refractory minerals are those that can, besides withstanding high temperatures (up to ~1500 ℃), endure thermal and mechanical shocks. They are mostly used in the internal lining of metallurgical furnaces. They are categorized into three sub-types: acid, neutral, and basic, depending on their relationship with various kinds of slags and furnace linings. The acidic variety includes quartz, fire clayClay fire , ball clayBall clay , kyanite, sillimanite; the neutral variety includes chromite, graphite and asbestos, while the basic variety comprises magnesite, dolomite, and bauxite. India has got a reasonably good reserveReserve of refractory minerals, being the largest repository of alumino-silicate minerals. The principal fertilizer mineral is a phosphate (phosphorite, apatite), now used mostly for the manufacture of superphosphate using H2SO4. Bulk of phosphate mineral deposits are sedimentary (-diagenetic) in origin. A number of phosphate deposits are in Rajasthan, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. However, India imports phosphate ore from West Asia. K-bearing fertilizer minerals occur in large quantities in Nagaur-GanganagarNagaur-Ganganagar basin, Rajasthan. Portland cementPortland cement requires limestone, clay, and some 5% gypsum for its manufacture. India has a satisfactory reserveReserve of these raw materials. Plaster of Paris is made with gypsum. Minerals needed in chemical industry are native sulfur, Fe-sulfides, barite, and fluorite. In fact, >80% of barite mined is used in making “heavy mud” for the oil drilling industry while fluorite’s main use is as flux in metallurgical processes. Minerals used for thermo-electrical insulators comprise muscovite mica, asbestos, steatite, talc, vermiculite, and pyrophyllite. Li is extractable from lepidolite. Micas are available aplenty from the mica-pegmatites of Bihar, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh. Glass and ceramic materials are in great demand for making quite a few things necessary for our everyday life, as well as in industries. We have necessary reserves of quartz, feldspar, and clays for this industry. Industrial abrasives vary in hardness and may be natural or manufactured. Hard abrasives are more manufactured these days. Natural hard mineral matter for abrasives includes diamond (industrial variety or bort) and corundum. Natural soft abrasive materials are many. Building stones comprise granite gneisses, granites, marble, limestone, sandstone and slate. Charnockites and khondalites also make good building stones. Quality of a building stone is determined by its beauty and durability. India’s annual business in this trade exceeds INR 10 billion. The most precious gemstones Gemstones found in India are diamond, followed by ruby, sapphire and emerald. Diamonds are obtained from kimberlitesKimberlites and lamproitesLamproite and related coarse sediments in central and south India. Ruby, sapphires, and emerald are found in the Kashmir Himalaya, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. Precious quality zircon (gomed) is found in the beach sandsBeach sands of peninsular India. The bulk of India’s need of gemstones is, however, satisfied by other countries including South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.

Geodynamics is the dynamics of the Earth. Metallogeny is the genesis of metals, rather the metal-bearing mineral deposits. So, ‘Geodynamic context of metallogeny’ relates metallogeny to geodynamics. We generally refer to geodynamics in terms of plates and plumes, that ultimately control magmatism, sedimentation, and metamorphism and hence ore genesis in the crust-mantle system. The solid earth is made up of physically distinct layers (from surface downward) of lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, and an inner core. The lithosphere is presently divided in to seven large and a few small pieces (‘plates’). They underwent making, breaking, and remaking several times during much of the Earth’s history, giving rise to what we call supercontinents and supercycles today. Formation of mineral deposits, which are in fact products of petrogenesis of sorts, controlled by tectonics, therefore varied in time and space. Tectonic setting of mineralization are today accepted to be as follows: continental hot spot produce Cr, Ni–Pt–Cu deposits, diamonds, certain stratiform base metal deposits, and even granite-related mineralization of Sn. Constructive plate boundaries host Fe-, Mn-oxides along the rifted ridge, and also Alpine-typeType alpine chromite deposits. Passive continental margins localize deposition of evaporitesEvaporite , phosphates, BIFsBanded Iron Formation (BIF) , carbonate-hosted Pb–Zn deposits. Subduction zones produce porphyryPorphyry type Cu–Mo–(Au) deposits and may be also Cu + Au skarn deposits. Continental collision zones contain podiform chromitechromite podiform , VMS, U and porphyry Cu deposits. Greenstone beltsGreenstone belts (ancient volcano-plutonic arcs?) are known for being the major localizer of orogenic goldGold orogenic , komatiite-related Cu–Ni deposits and also Cu–Zn mineralizations. Intracratonic settings are credited with IOCGIOCG mineralization. Tectonically stable regions with plateau-like relief and located in tropical and sub-tropical regions are best suited for lateritization.

India, the third largest economy in the world, has shown phenomenal growth in the last decade or so, but is often criticized for its skewed development. This fact is glaring in the mineral-rich states of east-central India where the tribal population in the mining belts of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh suffer from grinding poverty and malnutrition under a low Human Development IndexHuman Development Index (HDI) . It raises a vital question: in rich land with poor people, is sustainable mining possible? We look into this complex socioeconomic and industrial challenge in this concluding chapter in terms of the vital things at stake: natural resources, people, culture and livelihoods, forests and wildlife, water resources, environmental and ecological integrity, and finally the issue of land acquisition for mining. The various issues have snow-balled and affected many large mining projects with very large FDI components. The problem is exacerbated by rampant and large-scale illegal mining Illegal mining of bulk mineralsBulk minerals , including coal, which has forced courts to step in and ban iron ore mining in parts of Goa, Karnataka, and Odisha. Environmental degradation and inter-generational equity issues have also been raised by the judiciary to impose the ban. Natural resource utilization is an essential prerequisite for industrial development, and therefore, the three stakeholders, consumers, industry, and government, must join hands to pursue mining under a sustainable development Sustainable development framework which involves scientific miningScientific mining , environmental protection and mitigation, community stakeholders’ engagement, local socioeconomic development along with a high degree of transparency, and accountability. A proper mine closureMine closure plan should also be an integral part of any mining proposal. Ecosystem management in a mining area should also be an equally important remedial measure when mining ceases. The other important aspects of sustainability in mining also need to be highlighted. Geogenic Geogenic toxic elements which are released during mining into the ground and surface waters, like CrVI in the Sukinda Sukinda valley in Odisha, have severe adverse effect on human health. Besides, acid mine drainage may be generated from waste rocks, tailing dumpsTailing dumps , open pits, and abandoned underground mines of sulfidic ores and flow into rivers, streams, or lakes. Their negative effects need to be controlled and neutralized. Biological techniques are useful in this regard. Heap leachingHeap leaching of low-grade ores, of Cu for example, has the potentiality for acid water generation too. Cement plants are known to be the worst polluters, both in terms of cement dust and limestone mining. However, situation seems to be improving in modern plants. In the energy front, coal is a necessary evil generating a large part of thermal power but contributing to the global carbon emission and is thus responsible for global warming through greenhouse gas enhancement in the atmosphere. Oil and natural gas, absolutely essential commodities, are potent sources of environmental pollution right from exploration through production, refining, transportation, and use. Uranium ores also affect the environment when the radioactive metal is released into mine water, or is present in effluent of the ore processing plant and tailing dams and is finally passed on to the hydrologic system. Subsequently, it may enter the food chain and serve as a potential carcinogen. Nuclear energy production itself still has challenges of sustainable development Sustainable development as indicated by the recent disaster in Japan. Equally challenging is the issue of nuclear waste management.

Formation and transformation of mineral deposits are interactions of geospheresGeosphere , one including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and asthenosphere and the other involving the mantle and the core of the earth. Complex chemical and thermal interactions between these two geospheres have led to distribution and concentration of elements and even, later modifications, producing the mineral or ore depositsOre deposit of today. The essential processes involve magmatism, hydrothermal, and sedimentary processes with a strong impact of tectonism and in places, of weathering and erosion. The genetic processes vary in details. The principal ones are outlined below with the principal products in parentheses: (1) Essentially magmaticEssentially magmatic processes (Ni, Cu, PGE Cr, Fe–Ti); (2) Pegmatitic processes (rare metals, ceramic, and radioactive elements); (3) Essentially magmaticHydrothermal magmatic hydrothermal processes (Sn, W, U, Cu, Mo, REEREE ); (4) Essentially amagmaticHydrothermal amagmatic hydrothermal processes (Cu, Pb–Zn, Au, U); (5) Sedimentary (-diagenetic)Hydrothermal diagenetic processes (Fe, Mn, U, Sn, Ti, monazite, phosphorite, carbonate rocks, rock salt gypsum); (6) Lateritic and non-lateritic residual processes (Fe, Mn, Al, Ni, and clays); (7) SupergeneSupergene oxidation and enrichment (Cu, Ag, Au, U); (8) Biogeochemical degradation of biomass (peat-lignite-coal, natural gas, and oil).

Abstract There are three large intracratonic basins (Vindhyan, Cuddapah and Chattisgarh) and several smaller basins (Kaladgi, Bhima, Pakhal, Penganga, Indravati, Khariar, Sabari and Kolhan) covering a large part of peninsular India. They are not known to host any significant metallic resource – except for a substantial uranium resource and Pb–Zn sulphide mineralization in the Cuddapah Basin, uranium in Bhima and Kaladgi basins and manganese in the Penganga sequence – but are nevertheless the repository of vast resources of industrial rocks (limestone, dolomite, phosphorite, aluminous laterite, building materials) and minerals (including pyrite, barite and diamond) in the country. The temporal distribution of these resources indicates a Mesoproterozoic age for all the deposits and occurrences except the uranium deposits in the Vempalle dolostones in the southwestern fringe of the Cuddapah Basin, which are Palaeoproterozoic in age. The Cuddapah Basin is the most intensely mineralized Proterozoic basin, with the Cumbum Formation in the Nallamalai belt hosting stratabound base metals and barite, dated c. 1.6 Ga, all the way from north to south. Potential mineralization, still undiscovered in the basin, is a large SEDEX-type Pb–Zn orebody in the vicinity of the Mangampet barite deposit and unconformity-proximal U deposits in the Kurnool Group, similar to those of the Bhima Basin.

The role of polyphase deformation in controlling the emplacement of gold-quartz lodes in dilational regimes is demonstrated from the Proterozoic Bhukia–Jagpura gold prospect in south Rajasthan. Earlier researchers deciphered the gold-sulphide mineralisation event as synchronous to the second phase of deformation (D 2 ) without convincing microstructural or metamorphic evidences. In this contribution, we correlate the deformation and metamorphic imprints in the host rocks with those in the gold-sulphide mineralised zone, and present a new interpretation for the relative timing of gold emplacement vis-à-vis deformation. The ore-forming process first involved layer-parallel influx of ore-bearing hydrothermal fluids along S 1 schistosity in the host rocks, synkinematic with respect to the first phase of deformation (D 1 ). This initial ore concentration experienced metamorphism isofacially (~500°C at 5.3 kb) along with its host rocks during D 1 , and subsequently underwent extensive remobilisation, giving rise to gold-bearing silicified lodes along the hinges and axial surfaces of F 2 folds during D 2 .