1.4.3. Lead

Lead is a widely used material mainly due to its malleability, softness, heaviness and bad conductivity of heat. Important use of lead is as a constituent in alloys such as type metal, bronze and anti-friction metal. It doesn’t occur free in nature and occurs as a cubic sulphide known as Galena. Lead ores occur in India in the Himalayas, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. Rajasthan is the leading producer of lead. Udaipur (Zawar, Rikhabdeo), Dungarpur (Ghughra and Mando) and Alwar are the main producing districts. About 75% of Indian requirements are met by imports mainly from Australia, Canada and Myanmar.