Iron Ore Distribution in India | Types of Iron Ore

Types of Iron Ore – Haematite, Magnetite, Limonite & Siderite. Distribution of Iron Ore in India – Iron ore in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka & other states.

Types of Iron Ore

  • Haematite, Magnetite, Limonite & Siderite.

Haematite

  • Reddish; best quality; 70 per cent metallic content.
  • Found in Dharwad and Cuddapah rock systems of the peninsular India.
  • 80 per cent of haematite reserves are in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
  • In the western section, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa has this kind of ore.

Magnetite

  • Black ore; 60 to 70 per cent metallic content.
  • Dharward and Cuddapah systems.
  • Magnetic quality.
  • Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Limonite

  • Inferior ores; yellowish in colour; 40 to 60 per cent iron metal.
  • Damuda series in Raniganj coal field, Garhwal in Uttarakhand, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh.
  • Advantage == open cast mines == easy and cheap mining.

Siderite

  • ‘Iron carbonate’; inferior quality; less than 40 per cent iron.
  • Contains many impurities {previous post}; mining is not economically variable.
  • However, it is self-fluxing due to presence of lime.

Iron Ore Distribution in India

  • Hematite and magnetite are the two most important iron ores in India
Exact Numbers not important. Remember 1st and 2nd position.

Haematite

Magnetite

Reserves
~18,000 million tonnes

Which type of iron ore is abundant in India?

1.   Haematite

2.   Magnetite

~10,500 million tonnes
Major states
Odisha 33%

Jharkhand 26%

Chhattisgarh 18%

Rest in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra, MP, Rajasthan, UP

Karnataka 73%

Andhra Pradesh 14%

Rajasthan 5%

TN 4.9%

Rest in Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jharkhand, Kerala, MH, Meghalaya and Nagaland

Q1. Statements

  • Karnataka has more than half of the reserves of magnetite ore in India.
  • Jharkhand has the highest reserves of haematite ore in India.

Which of the above are true?

  1. Both
  2. 1 only
  3. 2 only
  4. None

Iron Ore in Orissa

  • The ores are rich in haematites.
  • India’s richest haematite deposits are located in Barabil-Koira valley.
  • Others: Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Keonjhar and Koraput districts.

Iron Ore in Orissa

Iron Ore in Chhattisgarh

  • Bailadila mine is the largest mechanised mine in Asia [Ore benefication only done here]
  • A 270 km long slurry (a semi-liquid mixture) pipeline from the Bailadila to Vizag plant transports the ore slurry.
  • Smelting is done in Vizag [Vishakhapatnam] iron and steel factory.
  • Bailadila’s high grade ore is exported through Vishakhapatnam to Japan [No iron ore in Japan. But market is huge due to automobile industry] and other countries.
  • The Dalli-Rajhara range is 32 km long [ferrous content 68-69 per cent] range with significant reserves.

Iron Ore in Chhattisgarh

Iron Ore in Jharkhand

  • 25 per cent of reserves.
  • First mine in Singhbhum district in 1904.
  • Iron ore of here is of highest quality and will last for hundreds of years.
  • Noamandi mines in Singhbhum are the richest.
  • Magnetite ores occur near Daltenganj in Palamu district.

Iron Ore in Jharkhand

Iron Ore in Karnataka

  • Iron ores are widely distributed.
  • High grade ore deposits are those of Kemmangundi in Bababudan hills of Chikmagalur district and Sandur and Hospet in Bellary [Lot of Mining Mafia].
  • Most of the ores are high grade haematite and magnetite.

Iron Ore in Karnataka

Iron Ore in other states

  • Andhra Pradesh (1.02%): Kurnool, Guntur, Cuddapah, Ananthapur, Nellore.
  • Maharashtra (0.88%): Chandrapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
  • Madhya Pradesh (0.66%).
  • Tamilnadu: Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Coimbatore, Madurai etc.
  • Rajasthan: Jaipur, Alwar, Sikar, Bundi, Bhilwara.
  • Uttar Pradesh: Mirzapur.
  • Uttaranchal: Garhwal, Almora, Nainital.
  • Himachal Pradesh: Kangra and Mandi.
  • Haryana: Mahendragarh.
  • West Bengal: Burdwan, Birbhum, Darjeeling.
  • Jammu and Kashmir: Udhampur and Jammu.
  • Gujarat: Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Vadodara.
  • Kerala: Kozhikode.

Primary References: NCERT Geography, Indian Geography by Kullar [Amazon and Flipkart]

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3 Comments

  1. very correct , in my engineering course and project done in USHA MARTIN and HEC in Ranchi – it was taught that haematite is the best Ore.

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