Mineral belts of India

Explain why most minerals lie east of the Mangaluru-Kanpur line.

Metallic minerals are found mainly in the old crystalline rocks of the peninsular plateau. India's minerals lie in belts:

North-eastern plateau (Chhotanagpur, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh): iron ore, coal, manganese, bauxite, mica. The richest belt.
South-western plateau (Karnataka, Goa, the Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala): iron ore, bauxite, manganese; and lignite at Neyveli.
North-western belt (the Aravalli ranges and Gujarat): copper, zinc, building stones (marble, sandstone), gypsum, petroleum in Gujarat, and salt.

The Himalayan belt has copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten. Assam and offshore Mumbai High have oil.

Old rocks, rich minerals.

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