The minerals resources are the precious wealth of a
country. These are extracted from the Earth. Some minerals like Coal, Iron,
Copper are found in solid forms and some like natural gas, mineral oil are
discovered in liquid shape.
A country with large deposits of minerals provides
a sound base for the development of a large number of Industries viz, Iron
& Steel, Petrochemicals, Cement, Pottery etc. The discovery of various
mineral deposits provides employment to a large number of persons living in
these areas, and improves their economic conditions. The availability of
mineral resources in the country reduces the import bill of many items like,
oil, chemicals etc. The mining sector thus makes a significant contribution to
GDP.
However mining sector has largely remained under
developed due to financial constraints, poor planning, heavy reliance on
advanced countries for the discovery of mineral wealth and the scarcity of
trained persons at home etc.
The structural geology and the stratigraphic
history of Pakistan ensure the presence of significant mineral resources. Until
now, six regions have been Pakistan is quite resources compared developing
countries rich in mineral to many other of the world. Earmarked for minerals.
(i) Hazard for Bauxite (ii) Chiral for Iron (iii) North-east Baluchistan and
adjacent parts of Waziristan for Coal, Chromite, Copper and Marble (iv) The Postwar
Plateau for Oil, Natural Gas, Coal (v) The Salt Range and Malarial region for
Rock salt, Coal and Gypsum (vi) Lower Indus plain for Gas, Oil and Coal.
Pakistan has economically exploitable reserves of barite,
dolomite, gypsum, rock salt, magnetite, soap stone, silica sand, limestone,
marble; granite and precious stones and other minerals like gold, silver,
copper, tin, chromite and platinum.
Presently, the value addition in mineral sector is
concentrated in three principal minerals like coal, natural gas and crude oil.
These three minerals account for four-fifth of the weight in the total value
addition in the mineral sector.