Context
Arittapatti tungsten mining: T.N. CM Stalin urges PM Modi to cancel mining rights awarded to private firm
About Tungsten:
- Classification: Transition metal
- State at Room Temperature: Solid
- Occurrence: Found naturally in minerals like wolframite and scheelite, always in compounds, never as a pure metal.
- Physical Properties:
- Density: One of the densest metals
- Melting Point: Highest of all metals
- Tensile Strength: Highest of all metals above 1650°C
- Uses of Tungsten:
- Alloys: Strong, flexible, wear-resistant, and good conductor of electricity.
- Industrial Products:
- X-ray tubes, light bulbs, high-speed tools, welding electrodes, turbine blades, gyroscope wheels.
- Sports Equipment: Golf clubs, darts, fishing weights.
- Military: Bullets, armor penetrators.
- Catalyst: Used to speed up chemical reactions.
- Cemented Tungsten Carbide: Hard substance used in grinding wheels and cutting tools.
- Chemical Compounds: Used in ceramic pigments, fire retardant coatings for fabrics, color-resistant dyes.
- Major Producers:
- China (dominates global production)
- Vietnam, Russia, North Korea
- Strategic Importance: Classified as a Critical Mineral by the Government of India.
Arittapatti village
- Biodiversity: Home to around 250 bird species, including three important raptors (birds of prey):
- Laggar Falcon
- Shaheen Falcon
- Bonelli’s Eagle
- Wildlife: Also supports species like the Indian Pangolin, Slender Loris, and Pythons.
- Anaikondan Lake: A 16th-century lake built during the Pandiyan kings’ reign.
- Cultural Heritage: The region is rich in megalithic structures, rock-cut temples, Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, and Jain beds.
Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS):
- They are well-defined areas that are unique and ecologically fragile ecosystems having rich biodiversity.
- Comprises of any one or more of the following components –
- Species richness
- High endemism
- Presence of rare and threatened species, keystone species, and species of evolutionary significance
- Presence of wild ancestors of domestic/cultivated species
- Past pre-eminence of biological components represented by fossil beds
- Areas with significant cultural, ethical or aesthetic values
- Legal Provision –
- Section 37(1) of Biological Diversity Act, 2002: State Government may, from time to time in consultation with the local bodies, notify in the Official Gazette, areas of biodiversity importance.
- Limitations: It does not put any restriction on the prevailing practices and usages of the local communities.
- 1st BHS of India – Nallur Tamarind Grove (Bengaluru, Karnataka)
- Present number of BHS: 45 (Feb 2024)
Source: TH
Previous Year Question
Which one of the following is the context in which the term “qubit” is mentioned?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2022 Prelims]
(a) Cloud Services
(b) Quantum Computing
(c) Visible Light Communication Technologies
(d) Wireless Communication Technologies
Answer: (b)