Minerals:-

Naturally occurring inorganic substances that has definite chemical composition and crystalline
structure, are called minerals. Minerals are substances that are formed naturally in the Earth. Minerals are
usually solid, inorganic, have a crystal structure, and form naturally by geological processes. Minerals can be
of two types:

 Metallic
 Non-Metallic

1.Metallic Minerals
Those minerals which are made up of metal compounds or resemble metal are called metallic
minerals.

2.Non-Metallic Minerals
Those minerals in which no metallic compound is present is are called non metallic minerals.
Metallic and non-metallic minerals are given below:-
 Mineral Deposits in Pakistan
Pakistan is endowed with huge reserves of minerals covering an outcrop area 600,000 sq.km.
There are 92 known minerals from which 52 are commercially exploited with a total production
of 68.52 million metric tones per year in Pakistan. Minerals are very important contribution to
the GDP of Pakistan.

 Distribution of Minerals in Different provinces:

BLOCHISTAN is the richest province with 80 to 85% of total minerals present there. Remaining
10-15% are present in SINDH, KPK and PUNJAB. The current contribution of the mineral sector to
the GDP is about 0.5%. Following is the mineral map of Pakistan:
  Mineral Deposits in PUNJAB:
Punjab is the 2nd largest province (area-wise) and has vast mineral potential in areas like
UPPER PUNJAB. Currently all the minerals extracted from Punjab in numbers 20 are and
are being given as following:
  Mineral Deposits in SINDH:
Sindh province is also very rich in minerals. A few years ago, very heavy deposit of coal
were found in the province of Sindh. We can say that Sindh is the 3 rd largest province of
Pakistan in enrichment of minerals. There are a total of 21 minerals extracted from
SINDH. The areas like Hyderabad, Thatta, Dadu, Tharparkar and Sukkar are very rich in
minerals. All the minerals extracted from SINDH are given as follows:
 Mineral Deposits in KPK:
KPK is rich in gems. Almost all of Pakistan’s precious stones are found here. KPK is also rich in
gypsum resources. The largest resources of gypsum in Pakistan are found here. Chromite is also
important mineral of KPK. Following are the details for the minerals extracted from KPK:
1.Gold 11.Salt
2.Copper 12.Gypsum
3.Uranium 13.Mica
4.Manganese 14.Soapstone
5.Lead-zinc 15.Asbestos
6.Barite 16.Graphite
7.Magnetite 17.Silica sand
8.Fluorite 18.Fire clay
9.Celestite 19.Fuller's earth
10.Sulphur 20.Gemstones
  Mineral Deposits in BALOCHISTAN:
Balochistan province is the richest province in mineral production across all the Pakistan. There
are 52 minerals currently exploited in Pakistan from which about 40 are being extracted from
Balochistan.
 Iron
 Copper
 Gold
 Silver
 Molybdenum
 Lead
 Zinc
 Barite
 Chromite
 Coal
 Gypsum
 Limestone
 Silica sand
 Asbestos
 Celestite
 Flourite
 Antimony
 Magnesite
 Soapstone
 Vermiculite
 Sulphur