Iron ore belts of India
Also called: Iron ore mines of Odisha and Jharkhand · Topic: Mineral Resources of India: Distribution and Conservation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 5 "Minerals and Energy Resources"; Class 12, Ch 5 "Mineral and Energy Resources"
Meaning
Iron ore belts are the main zones in India where large iron ore deposits are found and mined. NCERT lists four of them. They lie in the old igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Peninsula, and none lie in the northern plains. These belts matter because iron ore is "the backbone of industrial development", and steel plants have grown up near them.
The four belts are:
- Odisha-Jharkhand: Gurumahisani, Sulaipet and Badampahar (Mayurbhanj), Kiriburu (Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh) in Odisha; Noamundi and Gua (Singhbhum) in Jharkhand.
- Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur (Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra): Dalli-Rajhara (Durg), which feeds the Bhilai steel plant, and the Bailadila range.
- Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru (Karnataka): Sandur-Hospet, the Baba Budan hills and Kudremukh.
- Maharashtra-Goa: Goa and Ratnagiri. This ore is lower in grade and is exported through Marmagao port.
Example
The Bailadila range ("ox's hump") is in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh. It has 14 deposits of super high-grade haematite. NMDC mines it and exports the ore to Japan and South Korea through Visakhapatnam port.
Don't confuse with
- Mineral belts of India: these are wider zones that hold many minerals, such as the North-Eastern Plateau belt. Iron ore belts are about iron ore only.