These provide a solid base to metallurgical industries in the country
Iron Ore
It is a metal of universal use, and backbone of modern civilization
Iron is taken out in form of ore, and different types of ore contains varying proportion of iron
Haematite: this has around 70% of metallic content
Found in Dharwad and Cuddapah rock systems of peninsular India
Most of it is found in states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh
In western section, major concentration is in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa
Magnetite
Second best ore, with metallic content varying from 60-70%
These have magnetic quality, and occur in Dharwad and Cuddapah systems
Most reserves are found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Kerala
Limonite
These are inferior ores, which contain 40-60% iron metal
These are found in Raniganj coal field, Garhal in Uttarakhand, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh
Siderite
These contain concentration less than 40%
It contains many impurities and hence mining not economically viable
Reserves
Haematite and Magnetite are two most important iron ores in India
About 97% of magnetite ore resources are located in four states of Karnataka(73%), Andhra Pradesh(14%), Rajasthan(5%) and Tamilnadu(4.9%)
Major source of Haematite are located in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh
Production and distribution
India is the 4th largest world producer ofiron ore
The major iron ore belts in India are listed below:
Odisha-Jharkhand belt
Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt in Chattisgarh
Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru belt in Karnataka
Maharashtra-Goa belt
Orissa is the largest producer of Iron ore in India. Orissa accounts for over half of India’s iron ore production, produced 120 million tonnes during the 2019/2020 year.
Manganese
It is an important mineral for making iron and steel; and it acts as a basic raw material for manufacturing alloys
India has second largest manganese ore reserves in the world after Zimbabwe
The total Manganese ores are distributed in Odisha(44%), Karnataka(22%), Madhya Pradesh(13%), Maharashtra(8%), Andhra Pradesh(4%) and Jharkhand & goa(3% each),
India is fifth largest producer of manganese ore after Brazil, Gabon, South Africa and Australia
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the major Manganese producing states
Over 4/5th of total production is consumed within the country, and less than 1/5th is exported
Copper
Copper ore is found in ancient as well as in younger rock formations and occurs as veins, as dissemination and as bedded deposits
Mining for copper is a costly affair, as most ores contain a small percentage of the metal
Against the international average of metal content(in the ore) of 2.5%, Indian Ore grade averages less than 1%
Rajasthan has around 50% of total copper ore in the country; followed by Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand
The rest are accounted for by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamilnadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
When it comes to production, Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of copper in India, followed by Rajasthan
The production of copper ore in the country always falls short of our requirements and India has to import copper from other countries; of which the major supply comes from USA, Canada, Zimbabwe, Japan and Mexico
Nickel
It doesn’t occur free in nature and is found in association with copper
The important occurrences of Nickiliferous limonite are found in Jajapur district of Odisha
Nickel is found in Sulphide form in Jharkhand
Other important occurrences of Nickel are in Karnataka, Kerala and Rajasthan
About 92% of resources of Nickel are present in Odisha
Rest are distributed in Jharkhand, Nagaland and Karnataka
Lead and Zinc
Lead is a widely used metal due to its malleability, softness, heaviness and bad heat conductivity
It doesn’t occur freely in nature, rather it occurs as a cubic sulphide known as galena
Galena is found in veins in limestones, calcareous slates and sandstones
Zinc is a mixed ore containing lead and zinc and is found in veins in association with galena and other sulphide ores
Rajasthan is endowed with the largest resources of lead-zinc ore, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra
Resources are also established in Gujarat, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
Almost entire production comes from Rajasthan
Bauxite
This is an important ore for making Aluminium
Among states, Odisha accounts for 52% of country’s resources of bauxite followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya pradesh and Jharkhand
When it comes to production, Odisha is the largest producer followed by Chattisgarh
Gold
It is a valuable metal, used for making ornaments and is an international currency due to universal use
In term of metal content, Karnataka has the highest reserves followed by Rajasthan, reserves followed by Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand
In terms of production, Karnataka is the largest producer followed by Andhra Pradesh
Apart from the gold mines in the above mentioned areas, some gold is collected from the sands and gravels of several rivers
Such deposits are called placerdeposits
Alluvial gold is obtained from sands of Subarnarekha, and other rivers in Kerala
Silver
The chief ore mineral of silver are agentine, stephanite, pyargyrite
It is also found mixed with several other metals such as copper, lead, gold, zinc, etc
The main production comes from Zawar mines in Udaipur district of Rajasthan
Some silver is produced in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well
