The diversity of rocks and minerals in Asia is due to the specifics of the tectonic structure of the mainland of this part of the world. There are mountain ranges, highlands and plains. It also includes peninsulas and island archipelagos. Here, a conditional division into three regions is accepted: Western, South and Southeast Asia in geographical, economic and cultural terms. Also, according to this principle, it is possible to zone the main provinces, basins and mineral deposits.
metal fossils
The most massive group of Asian resources are metals. Iron ores are common here, which are mined in the Northeast of China and on the Hindustan Peninsula. There are deposits of non-ferrous metals on the east coast.
The largest deposits of these ores are located in Siberia and the Caucasus Mountains. In Western Asia, there are reserves of such metals as uranium and iron, titanium and magnetites, tungsten and zinc, manganese and chromium ores, bauxite and copper ore, cobalt and molybdenum, as well as polymetallic ores. Iron ore deposits (hematite, quartzite, magnetite), chromium and titanium, tin and mercury, beryllium and nickel ores are common in South Asia. Almost the same ore minerals are represented in Southeast Asia, just in different combinations. Among rare metals, it is worth noting cesium, lithium, niobium, tantalum and niobate-rare earth ores. Their deposits in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.
non-metallic minerals
Salt is the main resource of the non-metallic group of fossils. It is primarily mined in the Dead Sea. Building minerals are mined in Asia (clay, dolomites, shell rock, limestone, sand, marble). Raw materials for the mining and chemical industry are sulfates, pyrites, halites, fluorites, barites, sulfur, phosphorites. Industry uses magnesites, gypsum, muscovites, alunites, kaolin, corundure, diatomite, graphite.
A large list of precious and semiprecious stones that are mined in Asia:
Combustible fossils
Among all parts of the world, Asia has the largest reserves of energy resources. More than 50% of the global oil potential is located in Asia, where there are two largest oil and gas basins (in Western Siberia and the Persian Gulf). A promising direction in the Bay of Bengal and the Malay Archipelago. The largest coal basins in Asia are located in the Hindustan, in Siberia, in the region of the Chinese platform.
