This section covers general information for all the minerals occurring in India and their distribution in the country. Further attempt will be made to compile a complete mineral-wise database of India for academic purposes.

The Director of Mines should concentrate on the more accessible mines needing less capital investment and yielding large quantities of commodities and large profits over a number of years. The temptation for mining highly valuable gems should be controlled since such materials are rarely obtained in large quantities in one place, and the buyers are few and rarely available. Burdensome mines may be leased to individuals, but otherwise all large profitable mines and metal works should be operated by the state itself.

———-Kautilya (C.340-293 B.C.)