DETAILED INFORMATION DOSSIER (DID) ON IRON ORE IN INDIA

CONTENTS

PART-I: GENERAL INFORMATION ON IRON ORES - INDIAN AND WORLD

RESOURCES IN BRIEF

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION ON IRON ORES

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Uses
1.3 Commercial Grades And Specification
1.4 Market Price
CHAPTER 2 WORLD IRON ORE RESOURCES
CHAPTER 3 INDIAN RESOURCES
CHAPTER 4 PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE
4.1 World Scenario
4.2 Indian Scenario
4.3 Export Scenario of Iron Ore
CHAPTER 5 GEOLOGICAL SETTING, GENESIS AND
DISTRIBUTION OF IRON ORE DEPOSITS
5.1 Geological Setting
5.2 Geological distribution and brief description of deposit
CHAPTER 6 FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR IRON ORE DEPOSITS
IN INDIA
6.1 Demand of Iron Ore
6.2 Augmentation of iron ore
6.3 Optimum utilization of iron ore

PART-II: STATEWISE DISTRIBUTION AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF IRON ORE

DEPOSITS OF INDIA

CHAPTER 1 ANDHRA PRADESH

1.1 General Description
1.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
12.1 Khammam and Warangal Districts
1.2.2 East Godavari District
1.2.3 Anantapur District
1.2.4 Adilabad District
1.2.5 Cuddapah District
1.2.6 Karimnagar District
1.2.7 Kurnool District
1.2.8 Krishna District
1.2.9 Nellore District
1.2.10 Guntur District
 1.2.11 Prakasham District
1.2.12 Chittoor District
CHAPTER 2 ARUNACHAL PRADESH
2.1 General Description
CHAPTER 3 ASSAM
3.1 General Description
3.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
3.2.1 Goalpara District
3.2.2 Bongaigaon District
3.2.3 Kokrajhar District
CHAPTER 4 CHHATISGARH
4.1 General Description
4.2 Districtwise Distribution of the Deposits
4.2.1 Bastar District
4.2.2 Durg District
4.2.3 Deposits of Bordering area of Durg and Kanker
Districts
4.2.4 Dantewara District
4.2.5 Kanker District
4.2.6 Raigarh District
CHAPTER 5 GOA
5.1 Geological Setting
5.2 Geological distribution and brief description of
deposit
5.1 General Description
5.2 Description of the Individual Deposit on the Basis of
Genetic Type
5.2.1 Bicholim-Pale Type
5.2.2 Sacorda-Pissurlem Type
5.2.3 Codli-Sigao Type
5.2.4 Costi-Quirlapale Type
5.2.5 Barazan-Viliena Type
5.2.6 Rivona-Columba-Canvorem Type
5.2.7 Netrolim-Camona Type
5.2.8 Betul-Nuem Type
5.2.9 Other Deposits
CHAPTER 6 HARYANA
6.1 General Description
6.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
6.2.1 Mahendragarh District
CHAPTER 7 HIMACHAL PRADESH
7.1 General Description
CHAPTER 8 JAMMU & KASHMIR
8.1 General Description
8.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
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 8.2.1 Poonch District
8.2.2 Udhampur District
CHAPTER 9 JHARKHAND
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Districtwise Description of Deposits
9.2.1 Singhbhum District
9.2.2 Palamau District
9.2.3 Minor Occurrence in Jharkhand
CHAPTER 10 KARNATAKA
10.1 General Description
10.2 Districtwise Description of Banded Iron Formation
10.2.1 Bellari District
10.2.2 Chikmagalur District
10.2.3 Shimoga District
10.2.4 Chitradurga District
10.2.5 North Kanara District
10.2.6 Tumkur District
10.2.7 Bijapur District
10.2.8 South Kanara District
10.2.9 Dharwar District
10.2.10 Hassan District
10.2.11 Mandya District
10.2.12 Mysore District
10.2.13 Raichur District
10.3 Districtwise Description of Titaniferous and
Vanediferous Magnetite Ore Deposits
10.3.1 Shimoga District
10.3.2 North Kanara District
10.3.3 Mandya District
CHAPTER 11 KERALA
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
11.2.1 Calicut-Kojhikode Districts
11.2.2 Mallapuram District
11.2.3 Kottayam District
11.2.4 Palghat District
11.2.5 Quilon District
CHAPTER 12 MADHYA PRADESH
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Districtwise Description of Deposits
12.2.1 Jabalpur District
12.2.2. Chhatarpur District
12.2.3 Balaghat District
12.2.4 Dewas District
12.2.5 Dhar District
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 12.2.6. Gird District
12.2.7 Betul District
12.2.8 Jhabua District
12.2.9 Nimor (Khandwa) District
12.2.10 Rajgarh District
12.2.11 Sagar District
12.2.12 Satna District
12.2.13 Sidhi District
12.2.14 Tikamgarh District
12.2.15 Gwalior District
12.2.16 Mandsaur District
12.2.17 Narsimhapur District
CHAPTER 13 MAHARASHTRA
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
13.2.1 Sindhudurg District
13.2.2 Gadchiroli District
13.2.3 Chandrapur District
13.2.4 Bhandara District
13.2.5 Satara(N) District
CHAPTER 14 MEGHALAYA
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
14.2.1 Jaintia Hill District
CHAPTER 15 NAGALAND
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
15.2.1 Twensang District
CHAPTER 16 ORISSA
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
16.2.1 Keonjhar District
16.2.2 Sundargarh District
16.2.3 Jajpur District
16.2.4 Nawarangpur District
16.2.5 Mayurbhanj District
16.2.6 Sambalpur District
CHAPTER 17 RAJASTHAN
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
17.2.1 Jaipur District
17.2.2 Jhunjhunu District
17.2.3 Sikar District
17.2.4 Udaipur District
17.2.5 Bundi and Bhilwara Districts
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 17.2.6 Jodhpur District
17.2.7 Bharatpur District
17.2.8 Alwar District
CHAPTER 18 TAMIL NADU
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
18.2.1 Salem and Tiruchirapally Districts
18.2.2 Dharampuri District
18.2.3 South Arcot and North Arcot Districts
18.2.4 Niligiri District
CHAPTER 19 UTTAR PRADESH
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
19.2.1 Mirzapur District
CHAPTER 20 WEST BENGAL
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Districtwise Description of the Deposits
20.2.1 Burdwan District
20.2.2 Birbhum District

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 PART-I

GENERAL INFORMATION ON IRON ORES : INDIAN AND

WORLD RESOURCES IN BRIEF

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CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INFORMATION ON IRON ORES

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Iron is the second most abundant metallic element in the Earth’s crust and accounts for
5.6% of the lithosphere. The principal minerals of iron are the oxides (haematite and
magnetite), hydroxide (limonite and goethite), carbonate (siderite) and sulphide (pyrite).
Iron, like most metals, is found in the Earth's crust only in the form of an ore, i.e., combined
with other elements such as oxygen or sulfur. Haematite and magnetite are the two
important iron ores from which iron is extracted. Of these, haematite is considered to be
superior owing to its high grade.

It is the basic raw material for iron and steel industry. Steel is an alloy that consists mostly
of iron and has carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade.
Iron is extracted from ore by removing oxygen and combining the ore with a preferred
chemical partner such as carbon. This process is known as smelting. Since the oxidation
rate itself increases rapidly beyond 800 °C, it is important that smelting take place in a low-
oxygen environment. Smelting results in an alloy (pig iron) containing too much carbon to be
called steel. The excess carbon and other impurities are removed in a subsequent step.
Other materials are often added to the iron/carbon mixture to produce steel with desired
properties. Nickel and manganese in steel add to its tensile strength and make austenite
more chemically stable, chromium increases hardness and melting temperature and
vanadium also increases hardness while reducing the effects of metal fatigue. To prevent
corrosion, at least 11% chromium is added to steel so that a hard oxide forms on the metal
surface; this is known as stainless steel. Tungsten interferes with the formation of cementite,
allowing martensite to form with slower quench rates, resulting in high speed steel. On the
other hand, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus make steel more brittle, so these commonly
found elements must be removed from the ore during processing.

Iron has found its usage from a very early part of human civilization, second only to copper-
bronze. Steel was known in antiquity, and may have been produced by managing
bloomeries, iron-smelting facilities, where the bloom contained carbon. The earliest known
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production of steel is a piece of ironware excavated from an archaeological site in Anatolia
(Kaman-Kalehoyuk ) and is about 4,000 years old. Other ancient steel comes from East
Africa, dating back to 1400 BC. In the 4th century BC steel weapons like the Falcata were
produced in the Iberian Peninsula, while Noric steel was used by the Roman military. The
Chinese of the Warring States (403–221 BC) had quench-hardened steel, while Chinese of
the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) created steel by melting together wrought iron with
cast iron, gaining an ultimate product of a carbon-intermediate steel by the 1st century AD.
Evidence of the earliest production of high carbon steel in the Indian Subcontinent was
found in Samanalawewa area in Sri Lanka Wootz steel was produced in India by about 300
BC. Along with their original methods of forging steel, the Chinese had also adopted the
production methods of creating Wootz steel, an idea imported into China from India by the
5th century AD. During the early part of the civilization, India was an important trade centre
of iron smelting which dates back to about 3000 years. Documentary evidences suggests
making of various surgical instruments using iron as one of the constituent in 3rd/4th century
BC.

Since the 17th century the first step in modern steel production has been the smelting of
iron ore into pig iron in a blast furnace. Originally using charcoal, modern methods use coke,
which has proven to be a great deal cheaper. With the invention of the Bassemer processes
of iron extraction in 1856 and the Basic Open Hearth Process in 1878, the scenario
changed. These developments led to significant increase in the world production of steel
(which consumes the major share of iron) from 0.5million tones in 1870 to 28 million tones in
1900.The modern smelter for iron ore in India was found in 1877 using the ironstone
nodules associated with the Gondwanas of the coal field. The discovery of iron ore deposit
in 1904 heralded the industrial revolution. TISCO started producing pig iron in 1911 and
steel in 1912. Even today India is one of the leading producers of iron and steel in the
world. India has large resources of iron ore as well as population that could consume steel
in large quantities. Other iron rich nations are Brazil, Australia, Russia, China and Ukraine
etc.

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1.2 USES

Iron ore is used mainly for making pig iron, sponge iron and steel. Iron and steel together
form the largest manufactured products in the world and each of them enters into every
branch of industry and is a necessary factor in every phase of our modern civilization. It is
used widely in the construction of roads, railways, other infrastructure, appliances, and
buildings. Most large modern structures, such as stadiums and skyscrapers, bridges, and
airports, are supported by a steel skeleton. Even those with a concrete structure will employ
steel for reinforcing. In addition to widespread use in major appliances and cars, despite
growth in usage of aluminum, it is still the main material for car bodies. Steel is used in a
variety of other construction materials, such as bolts, nails, and screws. Other common
applications include shipbuilding, pipeline transport, mining, offshore construction,
aerospace, heavy equipment such as bulldozers, office furniture, steel wool, tools, and
armour in the form of personal vests or vehicle armour (better known as rolled
homogeneous armour in this role).

Pure iron has relatively few specialized uses. Ingot iron is galvanized for roofing, siding and
tanks. In the form of corrugated pipe it is used for culverts. Because of its relatively high
purity it is suited to oxy-acetylene welding, both as material to be welded and as welding
rod. It is used in vitreous enameling. Its good ductility makes it suitable for deep drawing
operation as in the manufacture of appliance parts e.g. washing machine tub, relatively low
electrical resistance and high magnetic permeability lead to its use in many types of
electrical equipments, generator fields, magnetic parts of relays, magnetic brakes and
clutches. Iron ore is also used in ferro-alloy, cement, foundry, vanaspati and glass factories.

1.3 COMMERCIAL GRADES AND SPECIFICATION

Haematite is the main iron ore which is extensively used for manufacture of iron and steel in
India. The chemical analysis grade of different varieties of iron ore is given in Table 1.3.1
while table 1.3.2 summarizes the mineralogical characteristics.

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Table 1.3.1: Grade of different types of iron ore
Sl no Type of ore Values Fe% SiO2% Al2O3% Cut off

1. Hard laminated ore Minimum 62.16 0.05 2.69 Fe-55%

Maximum 64.81 1.46 4.59
Average 63.92 0.48 3.58
2. Soft laminated/ Powdery ore Minimum 56.37 0.14 3.76 Fe-55%
Maximum 62.67 5.00 7.53
Blue dust
Average 60.08 2.77 5.94
3. Ferruginous shale/ lateritic Minimum 62.12 0.14 1.02 Fe-55%
Maximum 69.16 1.60 6.76
ore (Sub grade)
Average 64.60 0.78 4.18
4. ----- ------ 45.85 6.38 11.73 Fe-45%
54.61 11.72 22.61
48.50 8.57 17.50

Table 1.3.2: Mineralogical Characteristics of haematite ores

Ore Type Iron bearing minerals Gangue Other features
minerals
Massive Haematite, goethite, Quartz, clay Steel grey in colour, Sp.Gr. >5,
martite and high crushing strength
magnetite
Laminated Haematite, goethite, Clay, gibbsite, Laminated structure
limonite quartz, chert Sp. Gr: 4.2-4.7
Lateriritc Goethite, limonite, Clay, gibbsite, Dull luster, rich in alumina, friable
haematite, ochre silica nature
Blue dust Haematite, goethite Quartz, clay Generally blue/dark black or cherty
red in colour, powdery form, low
alumina

With the iron and steel industries are becoming increasingly conscious about the need for
improving productivity, the approach is towards obtaining cleaner ore with higher Fe content
having least gangue and of homogeneous & consistent quality. The specifications of iron
ore demanded by coal and gas based plants for manufacture of different type of iron is
given in Table 1.3.3.

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Table 1.3.3: Specifications of iron ore for sponge iron manufacturer
Chemical Fe% SiO2% Al2O3% P% S% Size
specifications (min) (max) (max) (max) (max) (in mm)
Coal Based 65 4.5 0.02 - - 5-18
Gas Based 66 3.0 0.02 0.04 0.01 6-20

The quality of iron ore required for different iron making processes is given in Table 1.3.4
Table- 1.3.4: Specifications of iron ores for different processes
Characteristics Corex Blast Direct Reduction Route
Furnace Midrex Hyl. Rotary Kiln
Physical size mm 10-30 6-30 /40 6-35 6-25 6-20
% - 6.3 mm -- 5.0 max 5.0 max 2.0 max 2.0 max
Tumbler Index (% + 6.3mm) 80-85 80.0 min 90.0 min 85.0 min 90.0 min
Abrasion Index (% - 0.5mm) 7.0 max 10.0 max 7.0 max 10.0 max 7.0 max
Shatter Index 95.0 min 90.0 min 95.0 min 90.0 min 95.0 min
(% + 10mm)
Chemical
Total iron 65.0 min 62-65 min 67.0 min 65.5 min 64.0 min
Gangue %(SiO2+Al2O3) 4.0 max 6.0 max 3.2 max 2.2 max 4.0 max
Sulphur % 0.004 max 0.01 max 0.015 max - 0.01 max
Phosphorous % 0.08 max 0.05 max 0.015 max 0.02 max 0.04 max
Alkali % - 0.02-0.04 0-15 max 0.10 max
LOI % 2.0 max 1.5 max 1.5 max
Metallurgical
Reaction and degradation 25 max 35 max 5 max 5max 7 max
Index

The typical compositions of cast iron are given in the following table 1.3.5. The different
grades of pig iron depend upon their contents of silicon, sulphur, phosphorus and
manganese.
TABLE 1.3.5: TYPICAL COMPOSITION OF CAST IRON
Composition White Iron Malleable Iron Grey Iron Ductile Iron
Carbon Wt% 1.8 – 3.6 2.0 – 3.0 2.5 – 3.8 3.2 – 4.2
Silicon Wt% 0.5 – 2.0 0.6 – 1.3 1.1 – 2.8 1.1 – 3.5
Manganese Wt% 0.2 – 0.8 0.2 – 0.6 0.4 – 1.0 0.3 – 0.8
Phosphorous Wt% 0.18 0.15 0.15 0.08
Sulphur Wt% 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.02
Source: IBM Monograph on Iron Ores (1998)

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1.4. Market Price:

Prices are influenced not only by the intrinsic prices of the ore (base price) but also by
freight rates. Freight rate demonstrates a more volatile behaviour to the basic price of the
ore. The prices of the iron ores of different grades during the period from 2003-04 to 2007-
08 are given below in Table No.1.4.1

TABLE 1.4.1: PRICES OF IRON ORE (DOMESTIC MARKET) 2003-2008 PER TONNE

Grades Market 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Lumps 63/63% Fe FOBT Marmango USD
Lumps 60/59% Fe (Berth) Goa 17.39 20.63 35.88 42.10 46.10
14.67 17.40 29.84 35.51 38.89
Fines 63/63% Fe -do- 15.18 18.01 30.88 36.75 40.24
Fines 62/62% Fe 14.74 17.48 29.99 35.68 39.07
Lumps + 65% Fe FOBT Noamundi/ Rs 335 1020 2317 2888 3730
62-65% Fe Jharkhand (avg) NA 997 1779 2415
Source: Indian Minerals year book, IBM

CHAPTER 2: WORLD IRON ORE RESOURCES

The world reserve base of crude iron is estimated to be 370 billion tonnes (USGS Mineral
commodity summary, 2008). The reserve base of iron content of iron ore is estimated to be
around 160 billion tonnes. USGS has also estimated that the world resources are estimated
to exceed 800 billion tonnes of crude ore containing more than 230 billion tonnes of iron.
Iron ore deposits are distributed in different regions of the world under varied geological
conditions and in different geological formations. The largest concentration of ore is found in
banded sedimentary iron formations of Precambrian age. These formations constitute the
bulk of world iron ore resources. The top ten countries in the world in the order of their iron
resources were the Common-wealth of Independent States (erstwhile USSR), Australia,
Canada, USA, Brazil, India, South Africa, China, Sweden and Venezuela. Ranking of iron
ore producing countries was the Commonwealth of Independent States, China, Brazil,
Australia, USA, India, Sweden, Canada, South Africa and Venezuela.

The world reserve base of crude iron ore by principal countries is given in Table 2.1

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Table 2.1: World resources of iron ore by Principal countries
Qty: Million tonnes
Crude ore Iron content
Reserve Reserve base Reserve Reserve base
United States 6900 15000 2100 4600
Australia 15000 45000 8900 28000
Brazil 23000 27000 16000 14000
Canada 1700 3900 1100 2500
China 21000 46000 7000 15000
India 6600 9800 4200 6200
Iran 1800 2500 1000 1500
Kazakhstan 8300 19000 3300 7400
Mauritania 700 1500 400 1000
Mexico 700 1500 400 900
Russia 25000 56000 14000 31000
South Africa 1000 2300 650 1500
Sweden 3500 7800 2200 5000
Ukraine 30000 68000 9000 20000
Venezuela 4000 6000 2400 3600
Other countries 11000 30000 6200 17000
World 160,000 37,000 79,000
160,000
Total (rounded)
Source: U.S.Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2008

CHAPTER 3: INDIAN RESOURCES

India is endowed with huge resource base of 25.24 billion tonnes of iron ore. Hematite and
magnetite combined together; ‘Reserves (111, 121, 122)’ being at 7.06 billion tonnes and
‘Remaining resources (211,221,222, 331, 332, 333 & 334)’ at 18.18 billion tonnes. Of the
total reserve base of 7.06 billion tonnes, hematite accounts for 7.0 billion tonnes and
magnetite at 0.60 billion tonnes.

The reserves and resources estimated by Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) in different period is
presented in Table- 3.1:

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Table 3.1: Reserves and Resources of Iron ore in India
Resources Resources Resources Resources
Iron Ore
As on 1980 As on 1990 As on 2000 As on 2005
Hematite 11,469 12,197 a. Reserves: 6025 a. Reserves: 7004
Proved (111): 4421 Proved (111): 4945
Probable (121): 828 Probable (121): 995
Probable: (122): 774 Probable: (122): 1063
b. Remaining resources b. Remaining resources
(331, 332, 333,334): (331, 332, 333,334):
5400 7626
Total: 11,425 Total: 14630 +
Magnetite 6,095 10,590 a. Reserves: 286 a. Reserves: 58
b. Remaining Resources: b. Remaining Resources:
10,396 10,560
Total: 10,682 Total: 10,619 +
Total 17,564 22,787 a. Reserves: 6,311 a. Reserves:7062
b. Remaining Resources: b. Remaining Resources:
17,277 18,245
Total: 23,588 Total: 25,249

As per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005, India possesses total haematite resources of 14,630
million tonnes of which 7,004 million tonnes are reserves and 7,626 million tonnes are
remaining resources. Major haematite resources are located mainly in Jharkhand-4036
million tonnes (28%), Orissa-4761 million tonnes (33%), Chattisgarh-2731 million tonnes
(19%), Karnataka-1676 million tonnes (11%) and Goa-713 million tonnes (5%). The balance
resources are spread over the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Assam and altogether contain around 4% of haematite (Table
3.2).

Magnetite is the other principal iron ore occurring in the form of oxide which is either of
magmatic origin or metamorphosed banded magnetite silica formation, possibly chemogenic
sedimentary origin. The magnetite resources are placed at 10,619 million tonnes of which
only 58 million tonnes constitute reserves, located mainly in Goa. A major share of
magnetite resources is located in Karnataka- 7812 million tonnes (74%), Andhra Pradesh-
1464 million tonnes (14%), Rajasthan-527 million tonnes & Tamil Nadu-482 million tonnes
(5% each), and Goa-214 million tonnes (2%). Assam, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh and Maharashtra together account for a meager share of magnetite resources. The
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most important magnetite deposits are located in Babubadan, Kudremukh, Bellary,
Anadurga and Bangarkal areas of Karnataka, Goa region - Ongole and Guntur dist. of
Andhra Pradesh etc. Other deposits are also located in Jharkhand , Bihar, Tamilnadu,
Kerala and Assam. (Source: IBM, Nagpur).

Table 3.2: Resources of iron ore (haematite) in the major producing states in 2000 and
2005
As on 1.4.2000 As on 1.4.2005
(in million tonnes) (in million tones)
Andhra Pradesh 140.01 163.03
Chhattisgarh 2120.02 2736.78
Goa 642.11 712.94
Jharkhand 3044.45 4035.74
Karnataka 1148.32 1676.22
Madhya Pradesh 200.65 204.93
Maharashtra 270.70 265.35
Orissa 3789.39 4760.62

The grade-wise and state-wise category-wise reconcilable reserves of haematite and

magnetite are shown in the table 3.3.

Table - 3.3: Reserves of iron ore (haematite and magnetite) (by grades and states)
(In million tonnes)
States/ Grade Recoverable Reserves (as on 1-4-2005)
Proved Probable Remaining Total
Resources
HAEMATITE
Total 4945 2059 7626 14630
By grades
Lump high grade 537 276 396 1209
Lump medium grade 1183 489 1887 3559
Lump low grade 471 678 899 1438
Lump unclassified 8 9 294 311
Fines high grade 146 98 107 351
Fines medium grade 1071 440 1084 2595
Fines low grade 965 131 539 1635
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Fines unclassified 17 5 164 186
Lumps and fines high grade 213 33 127 373
Lumps and fines medium grade 171 189 92 452
Lumps and fines low grade 118 236 248 602
Lumps and fines unclassified 40 80 285 405
Blue dust NA NA NA NA
Black iron ore NA 2 13 15
Others 0.7 0.9
Unclassified 2 NA NA 2
Not known 0.02 0.7 1487 1487
By States
Andhra Pradesh 25 15 123 163
Bihar - - 55 55
Chhattisgarh 570 190 1970 2730
Goa 268 191 254 713
Jharkhand 2237 257 1541 4035
Karnataka 465 475 736 1676
Madhya Pradesh 21 13 171 205
Maharashtra 10 4 251 265
Orissa 1341 911 2509 4761
Rajasthan 7 4 19 30
Magnetite
Total 14 44 10561 10619
By grades
Metallurgical 0.4 0.2 2185 2186
Coal Washery 0.01 3 5 8
Foundry 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.7
Others 0.2 0.7 24 25
Unclassified 13 39 8060 8112
Not known 0.3 0.1 286 286
By States
Andhra Pradesh NA NA 1463 1463
Bihar/Jharkhand 0.01 3 9 12
Goa 11 39 164 214
Karnataka NA NA 7811 7811
Madhya Pradesh NA NA NA NA
Maharashtra 0.5 0.1 NA 0.6
Orissa NA 0.2 0.05 0.2
Rajasthan 3 1 522 526
Tamil Nadu NA NA 481 481
NA: not available

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CHAPTER 4: PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE

4.1 World Scenario

World iron ore market has witnessed a healthy growth in last couple of years with rise in
Chinese steel production to meet its ever expanding demand. The International Iron and
Steel Institute (IISI) has predicted the world consumption of iron ore at 763 million tonnes in
2005. During 1980-88, the global iron ore market came down heavily on the reason of
imbalance in supply and demand for the ore. But towards end of 1988, the world economy
started recovering with sign of strong growth of iron ore production as noticed from 1993
onwards. Iron ore mining industry recorded an all time high till the end of 2007 when the
global recession severely restricted its growth affecting mining consumption and export.
Three largest companies viz., CVRD, Rio Tinto and BHP-Billiton together control about 30%
of global production.
Among the iron ore producing countries, China (25%), Brazil (18%), Austrialia (14.5%), India
(7%) and USA (6%) are the principal producers constituting about 70% of the world the
production. World production of iron ore is given in Table4.1a and by the principal countries
in the world in the (table No.4.1b).

Table 4.1a: World Production of Iron Ore (in Million tonnes)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

1085 1059 1104 1232 1370 1544 1826 2043
Source : World Mineral Statistics.

Table 4.1b: World Production by the principal countries (in million tonnes)

Country 2004 2005 2006 2007

World Total 1370 1569 1826 2043
Australia 234 262 275 299
Brazil 262 281 318 355
Canada 29 28 34 33
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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 16
China 310 421 588 707
India 146 165 181 204
Iran 18 26 32 35
Kazakstan 20 19 18 20
Russia 95 97 104 105
South Africa 39 40 41 42
Sweden 22 23 23 25
Ukrain 66 69 74 78
USA 55 54 53 52
Venezuela 19 21 22 23
Other Countries 55 63 63 65
Source: World Mineral production 2003-07

4.2 Indian Scenario

India is an important producer of iron ore in the world contributing more than 7% of the
production and ranking fourth in terms of quantity produced following China, Brazil, and
Australia. Iron ore production is around 181 million tonnes in 2006-07 growing by 9.5 per
cent over the previous year. The share of lumps in total iron ore production has been about
40 % with the rest being accounted for by fines and concentrates. The share of lumps in
total iron ore varies across the states depending on the quality of the deposits, operating
practices followed and the commercial judgment of the miners. The iron ore quality varies in
production according to its Fe content based grade – with 83.7 % of the total production
having Fe content of 62 % and above. Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Goa
are the major iron ore producing states in India. About 22.7 % of the total production was
from captively held mines with rest coming from merchant mines. Increase in production
have come almost entirely from the existing mines and more so from those in the private
non-captive sector. Increase in iron ore production from captive mines was small. Captive
mines recorded only 21.6 % growth in output during 2002-03 – 2006-07 compared to 109 %
in the case of non captive mines. Iron ore production growth has been lower in the public
sector at 39 % in the last six years compared to 223 % recorded in the private sector.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 17
Increase in iron ore production has mainly been driven by export demand and consequent
increases in the prices of the same in the international market. The sector accounts for
about 2.8 per cent of the country’s GDP. India started exporting iron ore after the second
world war, particularly to meet the ever expanding requirement of the Japanese steel mills.
New areas such as Bellary-Hospet and Chitradurga in Karnataka, Kiriburu in Jharkhand and
Bailadilla were developed post World War II period to meet the requirements of Japanese,
South Korean and Taiwanese steel mills. The Indian iron ore industry has been resilient to
the changes in domestic and international demands. A brief account of the Total production
of iron ores in India in terms of types is given in Table 4.2.1 and by principal states in Table
4.2.2

Table 4.2.1: Production of Iron Ore, in MT

2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Total 122.84 145.94 165.23 187 206
Lumps 48.96 58.15 68.30 88 92
Fines 67.68 82.54 96.90 98 114
Concentrates 6.20 5.25 3.61 1 0.6
Source: Indian Mineral Year Book, IBM

Table 4.2.1: Production of Iron ore by Principal states (Lumps+Fines), in MT

States 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Andhra Pradesh 2.81 4.15 5 9
Chhattisgarh 23.12 26.08 28 31
Goa 22.67 24.03 29 29
Jharkhand 16.72 17.98 18.60 21
Karnataka 37.96 39.84 40.70 45
Madhya Pradesh 0.21 0.46 1.21 2
Maharashtra 0.67 0.52 0.50 0.6
Orissa 41.75 52.15 64.10 68
Rajasthan 0.03 0.018 0.017 0.01
Source: Indian Mineral Year Book, IBM

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 18
4.3 EXPORT SCENARIO OF IRON ORE

India has one of the largest iron ore reserves in the world. During 2005-06 India
produced 147.27 million tonnes of iron ore. Out of this only 58 million tonnes were used for
domestic consumption and the rest was exported. China is the main importer of iron ore
from India and in fact India's exports (of iron ore) to China alone are far in excess of its
domestic consumption. Iron ores are exported under long term agreements (LTA). The
government entered into LTA with Japanese Steel Mills, POSCO, South Korea and Chinese
Steel Mills for export of iron ores for a period of five years. The private sector companies do
not require permission of the government to export iron ore with iron content less than 64
per cent. However, such companies who own mines are allowed to export iron ore fines
having iron content of 64 per cent and above after meeting requirements of domestic
consumers and the MMTC Ltd.

CHAPTER 5: GEOLOGICAL SETTING, GENESIS AND DISTRIBUTION OF IRON ORE

DEPOSITS

5.1 GEOLOGICAL SETTING

India has large reserves of good quality iron ore. These iron ores occur in different
geological rock groups/ formations in different time domains but the largest concentration of
economic deposits are found associated with volcano-sedimentary Banded Iron Formation
(BIF) of Precambrian age. The BIF, mainly comprising of banded haematite quartzite /
banded haematite jasper (BHQ/ BHJ) contains iron in the range of 25 – 40%. By supergene
enrichment, the iron content of this BHQ/BHJ has in many places gone up to about 55 –
+65% making them very good quality ore. Magnetite dominant deposits are generally
associated with banded magnetite quartzite (BMQ) and contain about 25 – 40% iron. These
magnetite ores are often utilized by appropriate beneficiation making the ores suitable for
the consumer industries.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 19
Genetic Type

On the basis of mode of occurrence and origin, the iron ore deposits of India are divided into
five groups; viz. Banded Iron Ore Formation, Sedimentary iron ore deposits of sideritic and
limonitic composition, Lateritic ores derived from sub-aerial alteration of gneiss, schists etc.,
Titaniferous and Vanadiferous magnetite deposits and Fault and fissures filling deposits.
Amongst these the larger deposits are from the Banded iron ore formation of Precambrian
age followed by Titaniferous and Vanadiferous magnetite deposits.

(i) Banded Iron Formation of Precambrian Age:

The BIF deposit is very well developed in India. Most of the Indian deposits are similar to
those of Lake Superior regions of USA, Brazil, Venezuela. Extensive outcrops of BIF are
found in the states of Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhatisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and
Tamil Nadu. The most common names used in India to designate BIF are Banded
Haematite Quartzite (BHQ) and Banded Magnetite Quartzite (BMQ). In other parts of the
world, names like taconite (Lake Superior), itabirite (Brazil), jaspilite (Western Australia) and
calico rocks (South Africa) have been in use to designate BIF. In recent years BIF has come
to be generally acceptable both as field term as well as stratigraphic term to designate iron
rich sedimentary rock.

Classification of BIF

Gross (1965) distinguished two main types of iron formations from pre-Cambrian viz.
Algoma and Superior. The Algoma type is dominantly Archean in age and characterized by
thin banding and absence of oolitic and granular texture, limited in lateral extent and closely
associated with volcanic rocks and gray sediments. Carbon and pyrite rich black shales are
common. The superior type on the other hand has the characteristic formation of the
Proterozoic and is laterally very extensive and closely associated with clastic sediments like
quartzite and pelitic rocks without showing any direct relationship with volcanic associations.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 20
The most common occurrence of banded iron ore formations of India are:
a. Archaean schist belts: Jharkhand, Orissa, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Goa (high grade
deposits)
b. Granulite terrain of South India: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

The BIF of of Archaean schist belt generally possesses the characteristics of both Algoma
and Superior types. In Granulite terrains BIF is a weakly banded magnetite- quartzite
forming part of a supracrustal sequence of quartzites, mica schists, marbles, metavolcanics
and amphibolites completely engulfed in a voluminous mass of a tonalitic gneiss. The
formation is highly folded and metamorphosed under granulite facies condition. Typical
examples are iron formation from the granulite regions of South India (Tamil Nadu, parts of
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala) that is different from those of the Archaean schist
belt.

Thus the iron ore formation within the Indian shield can be divided into two main types: (i)
those lying within the high grade region and (ii) those confined to Archaean schist belt.
Among these, the first type occurs as narrow, highly deformed and metamorphosed belt
within Archean granulites and gneisses and represents formation of an older age group
(>3000 My.) formed in distinct tectonic environment and later incorporated within high grade
mobile belt. The second and the more extensive type having characteristic of both Algoma
and Superior type, is the one confined to the schist belts formed during the period 2900-
2600 Ma. This type of deposits is confined to states of Jharkhand, Orissa, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Chhattishgarh and Goa. These form important repositories of rich iron ore
deposits in India.

Origin of BIF

The origin of BIF is a controversial aspect on which no final opinion has been possible
despite years of study in different parts of the world. However it is considered that larger and
ore widespread deposits are of sedimentary origin. The volcanic nature of the period during
which Archaean iron formation was accumulated has also been recognized (e.g. Isua

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 21
Formation). A controlling factor was probably the composition of ocean water during
Archean. The E h and p H of ocean water were significantly different from those of later
years.

One view is that iron formation was deposited in shallow inland lakes, fresh water being
considered as a more likely vehicle for transportation of silica & iron from crust similar to
present day lateritic crust. Period of intense deposition was preceded by a long period of
accumulation of dissolved iron and silica in sedimentary basin. Another view is that iron
formation is essentially a product of diagenetic replacement of primary carbonate. Although
there are evidence of replacement but the process can not account for vast amount of iron
in iron formation. The character of late Archean – early Proterozoic atmosphere is also
taken into consideration for origin of BIF. The atmosphere at that time is believed to have
been rich in carbon dioxide, nitrogen and deficient in oxygen. Vast quantities of iron thus get
stored at in ocean and lakes. Later on when life first appeared photosynthetic release of
bulk oxygen became possible. This oxygen combined with dissolved iron and precipitated it
giving rise to iron rich band. But once the dissolved iron was used up there was no further
formation of iron. But iron formation as old as 3000 Ma indicates that the build of oxygen in
hydrosphere took place much earlier. The destructive chemical composition shown by iron
formation restricted mainly to iron and silica to the exclusion of other metallic compounds
and origin of uniform banding can not be explained through inorganic chemical precipitation
alone.

There are diverse views and concepts of different workers on the origin of BIF. The existing
knowledge about the BIF appears not adequate to build a satisfactory theory of origin.
Therefore, a single mode of origin for all BIF cannot be thought of.

Characteristics of Ore of BIF Type

The BIF has given rise to vast accumulations of commercial grade iron ore deposits in India,
more than 90% of the iron ore supplied to the industry comes from the BIF. The major ore
minerals are haematite and magnetite. To assess the resource potentiality of an iron ore

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 22
deposit knowledge of various physical types of ore which are exploited commercially is of
utmost importance. The different types of iron ore derived from banded haematite rock met
within the deposits of this group are

(i) Massive ores: Massive and compact ore, generally formed by replacement
processes - are dark brown to steel grey, compact ore containing 68-70% Fe. They
may form high grade float type deposits when naturally transported and accumulated.
(ii) Laminated ore: generally formed as residual product of selective chemical leaching -
are soft, friable, porous in nature and contain 55-60% Fe. They are also called
'biscuity ore'.
(iii) Shaly ore: are generally met at depth and as the name implies shows structure and
texture like that of shale. They may be rich in iron (+ 60% Fe) or or Fe may be as low
as 40% with high Si02 and Al203 content, and require beneficiation (washing) before
being fed to the furnace.
(iv) Powdery ores (Blue dust) are soft, porous ores, disintegrate into powder or into
very small thin slabs and occur as fairly large pockets. They appear grey-blue and
contain 66-69% Fe, but require beneficiation (sintering) before feeding to blast
furnace.

In addition float ore accumulation on the slopes and foot of the hills as a result of
disintegration of in situ ore bodies are commonly met with. The float ores are of different
sizes and of different degree of purity.

(ii) Sedimentary iron ore deposits of siderite and limonitic composition:

These ores are also known as Bog iron deposit. These ores of siderite and limonitic
compositions are found associated with the iron stone shales of lower Gondwana age
occurring in the coal fields of Jharkhand and West Bengal and the ferruginous beds in the
Tertiary formations of Assam and the Himalayas due to hydration, the sideritic ore often
changed to limonite stone near the surface. They are heterogeneous in grade and modes of
occurrences. The iron minerals are accumulated as irregular bodies in stream beds and

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 23
typically at the bottom levels of bogs and marshes where lower Gondwana sediments have
deposited along with their organic debris. In upper Assam such deposits occur in Lakhimpur
and Sibsagar districts and are mainly of two types: clay iron stone and impure limonite.

In Ranigunj area the sedimentary iron ores occur in the form of thin beds of ironstone of
variable thickness and frequently in the Ironstones shale Group of the Damuda series in
Ranigunj Coalfield. The ore is grey iron carbonate but near the surface it has been
converted into brown hydrated oxide. Clay iron stones are also known to occur in the
Karanpura and Auranga Coal fields.

(iii) Laterite ores derived from the sub-aerial alterations:

Laterite types of iron ores are derived from the sub-aerial alteration of rocks, such as
gneisses, schists, basic lava etc. under humid tropical conditions. Some of the laterites of
suitable composition may become exploitable ore but most of them contain too little of iron
and too much of alumina along with other elements like titanium, nickel, chromium and
manganese. The ores are generally concentrated at the top as a resultant alteration product
of the iron bearing parent rocks and consist of oxidised and insoluble rock constituents.
They may consist of nodular red, yellow or brownish haematite and goethite. The capping is
usually thicker over the basic rocks which contain high concentration of primary iron
associated with nickel, chromium, manganese and titanium. Large stretches of Deccan
Traps, the gneisses in the Western Ghats and the Chhotanagpur plateau in Jharkhand and
the schistose rocks of many areas like those of Sandur are covered by such lateritic tops.

(iv) Ores formed by magmatic activity:

A zone of apatite-magnetite rock is found closely associated with the copper belt of
Singhbhum. These are supposed to have been formed by magmatic activity associated with
pre-Cambrian diastrophic cycle when the rocks of the shear zone were thrust and intruded
by acid or intermediate igneous rocks. The rock is usually a mixture of apatite and magnetite
with some biotite, chlorite and sub-ordinate quartz and is generally found on the hanging-
wall side of copper lodes. The apatite magnetite ores are associated with granodiorite.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 24
(v) Titaniferous and vanadiferous magnetites:

The vanadiferous-titaniferous magnetite deposits of south eastern Singhbhum (Jharkhand),

Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar (Orissa) and Hassan districts (Karnataka) are associated with
gabbroid and ultrabasic rocks. This type of ore of Jharkhand and Orissa occurs as thin
veins, lenses and pockets in gabbroid and ultrabasic igneous rocks which are often altered
to serpentine and steatite or to epidiorite. Both magnetite and ilmenite are present in these
ores and in many cases, appreciable amounts of haematite are also seen. In Karnataka
small lenses-like bodies of titaniferous magnetites occur in Tumkur district. These are
generally associated with ultramafic rocks which occasionally contain chromite also. These
deposits contain 55 to 61% iron. In Hassan district titaneferous magnetites occur as linear
bands with prominent outcrops in a narrow belt of Dharwar rocks which are composed of
amphibolites and hornblende schists surrounded by Peninsular Gneisses and intruded by
an ultrabasic complex.

(vi) Fault and fissure filling deposits:

Fault and fissure filling deposits of haematite are minor occurrences, seen in Veldurty and
Ramalla Kota in Kurnoor district of Andhra Pradesh. They occur in a fault zone traversing
the gneisses and Cuddapah formation over a strike length of several km. The ore bodies
form low hillocks or ridges which stand out well above the ground and are lens-shaped; they
also form veins and stringers in the fault zone. The ore is generally haematite and is often
slightly specular in character and also jaspery when it is siliceous.
5.2 GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSIT:-

Haematite and magnetite are the most prominent of the iron ores found in India. The iron
ores occurs in different geological rock groups/ formations in India but the largest
concentration of economic deposits are found associated with volcano-sedimentary Banded
Iron Formation (BIF) of Precambrian age. The older magnetite-dominant deposits with
bands of magnetite are generally of Algoma type associated with banded magnetite

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 25
quartzites whereas the younger haematite dominant deposits are similar to Lake Superior
type, associated with banded haematite quartzite/jasper (BHQ/BHJ) and occur as cappings
on hills. Of these, haematite is considered to be superior because of its high grade and
occurs as massive, laminated, friable and also in powder form. The major deposits of iron
ore are located in Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Karnataka and Goa States. About 60% of
haematite ore deposits are found in the Eastern sector and about 80% magnetite ore
deposits occur in the Southern sector, especially in Karnataka (Plate-I).
Extensive deposits of high grade hematite ores are available in the following States:
1. Jharkhand - Singhbhum district
2. Orissa - Sundargarh, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj and Cuttack districts.
3. Chhatisgarh - Bastar and Durg districts.
4. Karnataka - Bellery, Hospet and Chickmagalur districts.
5. Goa - North Goa and South Goa
6. Maharashtra - Surajgarh, Chandrapur and Ratnagiri districts.

Orissa has the highest resources followed by Jharkhand, Chahattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa
and Maharashtra in order of abundance.

Large resources of low grade magnetite ores occur in Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu,
Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Karnataka has the highest resources of magnetite ore.
Major iron ore deposits in India, distributed in several geographical locales are grouped
under five zones designated as Zone – I to Zone-V, have been identified in the country on
commercial ground (Plate –II) which are as below:

Zone I- Occur in the Bonai Iron Ore ranges of Jharkhand, Orissa and adjoining areas
of eastern India. This also includes Gorumahisani-Badampahar, Tomka-Daiteri
belts.
Zone II – Comprises the iron ore deposits in the long (225 km.) North-south trend in
linear belt in central India in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra (East)
Zone III – Occur in Bellary –Hospet region of Karnataka.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 26
Zone IV – Includes the rich magnetite deposits of Bababudan –Kudremukh areas of
Karnataka
Zone V – Cover the rich iron ore of Goa and coastal Maharastra

In addition, magnetite rich banded magnetite quartzite occurs in parts of Andhra Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

State wise distribution and description of deposits

The larger and rich iron ore deposits are mainly concentrated in Jharkhand, Orissa,
Chhatisgarh, Karnataka and Goa. Comparatively small deposits are situated in
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan. The occurrences of iron
ore deposits are also reported from Assam, Meghalaya Nagaland, West Bengal, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir. Extensive deposits of high grade haematite
ore are available in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand; Sundergarh, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj
and Cuttak districts of Orissa; Bastar and Durg districts of Chhattisgarh; Bellary , Hospet
and Chickmaglur district of Karnataka, North and South Goa. Comparatively smaller
deposits are available in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, Surguja, Chandrapur and
Ratnagiri districts of Maharastra. Besides, low grade BMQ (Banded Magnetite Quartzite)
ores occur in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Detail description of the deposits
belt-wise and sector-wise has been enumerated in Part – II of the volume. The age-wise
distribution of Indian iron ore deposits is given in Table 5.2.1 and a State-wise locale for iron
ores are tabulated given in Table 5.2.2.

Table- 5.2.1: Age-wise distribution of Indian iron ore deposits

Formation Nature of ore Occurrence
Quaternary Laterite Many states derived from many
formations including Deccan
Traps
Tertiary Ironstone SouthIndia-Travancore, Malabar
Miocene & Eocene etc. Assam, NE states,
U.P.Kumaon
Jurassic
Rajmahal Trap Iron stones West Bengal (Birbhum),
(intertrappean beds) Jharkhand (Rajmahal)
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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 27
Gondwana
Barakar Ironstones & siderite West Bengal (Birbhum)
Mahadeva Siderite Jharkhand-Auranga coalfield
Triassic
Ironstones & shale Ironstones & siderite West Bengal –Raniganj coalfield
Haematite & goethite Kashmir
Cuddapah
Bijawar Haematite & ferruginous Madhya Pradesh-Gwalior, Indore
Gwalior quartzite etc.; Andhra Pradesh-Cuddapah
Pre-Cambrian
Basic & ultrabasic rock Titaniferous and Jharkhand-SE Singhbhum;
vanadiferous magnetite Orissa-Mayurbhanj; Karnataka
Granodiorite Apatite magnetite rocks Singhbhum
Granite Magnetites (residual) Assam-Jaintia Hills;
Karnataka-Kudremukh
Banded Iron Formation Haematite (massive, Orissa- Sundergarh,Keonjhar,
shaly, powdery etc.) Mayurbhanj; Karnataka - Simoga,
Bellary -Hospet,Dharwar;
Jharkhand - Singhbhun West;
Maharashtra - Ratnagiri and
Chandrapur ; Chhattisgarh-Bastar
(Bailadila) and Durg; Madhya
Pradesh - Jabalpur
Banded Iron Formation Magnetite-quartzite Tamilnadu - Salem, Tiruchirapalli;
(metamorphosed) Kerala; Andhra Pradesh -Guntur ;
Karnataka - Shimoga &
Chikmagalur; Himachal Pradesh -
Mandi.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 28
Table - 5. 2. 2: State-wise brief description of iron ore deposits
Name of the State General description of deposit
1 2
JHARKHAND Iron ore, principally haematite in
(including BIHAR) banded iron formation occurs in a
number of prominent hills in
south western part of Singhbhum
district. Besides, titaneferous
magnetite and apatite magnetite
are also found in SE Singhbhum.
ORISSA Precambrian Iron Ore Group of
rocks of Singhbhum-Keonjhar
Bonai belt containing high grade
haematitic ore are running
through Keonjhar and
Sundargarh districts . Apart from
haematite, magnetite (Ti
bearing)also noted from several
places.
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DID, IRON ORE, 2010
Name of the deposits Ore Minerals
3 4
I. Haematite deposit Haematite (BIF)
A) Singhbhum Distt : Noamundi, Gua, Borajamda,
Kiriburu, Neghatuburu, Manoharpur, Chiria
B) Ranchi Distt : Sikorda, Bagdanr, Mahantol
C) Minor occurrences in Santhal Pargana,
Bhagalpur, Dhanbad, Hajaribagh, Sahabad
Dists.
II. Magnetite deposit : Ap-magnetite
A) Singhbhum Distt.
1) Ramchandra Pahar, Kudada, Patharghora,
Khejurdari
2) Dublabera, Sindurpur. Ti-magnetite
B) Palamau Distt. : Gore village, Sua & Kauria Magnetite
areas, Biwabathan.
I. Haematite deposit Haematite (BIF)
A) Keonjhar Distt.: Thakurani, Bolani, Jhilling-
langallota, Joda, Gandhamardan, Malangtoli,
Bansapani, Guali, Gurubera and minor
occurrence from Jajang, Joribahal, Katamati,
Bhadrasahi, Koira, Kasia, Kurbandh, Dulki,
Jolahuri, Baldo etc.
B) Sundargarh Distt.: Barsua, Mankarnacha, Balia
Pahar, Khondadhar, Mithurda, Patroposi.
C) Jajpur Distt. : Tomka, Daitari
D) Mayurbhanj Disttt.: Gorumahisani, Sulaipet,
Badampahar
E) Nawarangpura Distt.: Hirapur Umrakot
F) Sambalpur Distt.: Lohakhand-Naibassa Hill
G) Dhenkanal Distt.: Malaygiri range
29
 1 2 3 4
II. Magnetite deposit
a) Ti-bearing magnetite from Kumardubi, Magnetite
Betjharan, Nahapahari and SW of Baripada (Ti-bearing)
b) Puri Distt : Chilka Lake Magnetite (Sand)
c) Dhenkanal Distt : Basudebpur, Murhi Magnetite
(Lateritic)
CHHATISGARH Precambrian Iron Ore Group of I. Haematite deposit
rocks consists of banded haematite- A) Bastar Distt: Rowghat area, Chhotadongar Haematite
jasper/quartzite, similar to deposit (BIF)
Singhbhum-Keonjhar iron ore belt B) Dantewara Distt.: Bailadila range includes
are found in several parts of MP and fourteen deposits numbered 1 to 14
Chhatisgarh State. Large deposits C) Durg Distt.: Dalli-Rajhara, Kanchar,
of excellent quality of iron ore are Jharandali, Kondekosa and minor
found in Bastar and Durg districts. occurrences near Khairagarh, Berla, Katul
Kassa, Jurla Khar etc.
D) Kanker Distt.: Ari Dongri. Besides this there
are smaller deposits in Dulki, Kalwar, Dongar
bar, Lohattar in bordering area of Durg
district.
E) District with minor occurrence : Jashpur,
Bilashpur, Raigarh districts.
MADHYA Precambrian Iron Ore Group of I. Haematite deposit
PRADESH rocks consists of banded haematite- A) Jabalpur Dist: Kanhwar plateau, Agaria, Haematite
jasper/quartzite. Bijori, Ghosalpur, Lora hill, Ghoghra, Silondi, (BIF)
Saroli etc.
B) Chattarpur Dist: Dalipur, Nimkhera, Deora,
Chungwah etc.
C) Districts with smaller occurrence: Betul,
Jhabua, Nimar, Rajgarh, Sagar, Satna, Sidhi,
Tikamgarh, Gwalior, Mandsaur,
Narasimhapur etc.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 30
 1 2 3 4
KARNATAKA Iron ore deposit of Kranataka are I) Haematite deposit Haematite (BIF)
classified into three types : A) Belary Distt.: Bellary-Hospet deposit
1. Banded ferruginos quartzite of B) Chitradurga Distt.: Sivaganga and Hiriyur,
Dharwarian age containing Medikeripura, Kadlegudam, Bhimasamudra,
haematite 2.Metamorphosed banded Vajra etc.
magnetite-quartzite containing C) Shimoga Distt.: Siddarahalli, Channagiri,
magnetite 3.Magnetic deposit Joldhal, Ganpur, Bhadigund, Shankargudda
containing titaneferous magnetite and Kumsi area, Chattanhalli, Agumbe-
associated with ultrabasic rock. Visaniguda, Kodachadri, Kotebare.
D) Bijapur Distt.: Amingarh, Bassargi, Bisnal,
Aihole, Hiremagi-Ramthal
E) North Kanara Distt.: Halkhamba, Shiroli,
Kunang, Kalinadi, Hudsa, Anmod, Kuveshi-
Diggi, Joidu, Talaginkere, Mavingundi,
Huntaganis, Yellapur.
F) Tumku, district, Karikurikhi,
Chikanayakanhalli, Janehara, Kuni, etc.
G) Minor occurrences: Bijapur, Dakshin
Kannada, Dharwar, Hassan, Mysore districts.
II) Magnetite deposit Magnetite (BIF)
A) Chikmagalur Distt.: Bababudam Hill,
Kudremukh, Gangamula.
B) North Kanara Distt.: Kodalgadde
Apsarakonda
C) Mandya Distt.: Muddur, Tippur, Husegu & Vanediferous
Hullahalli. magnetite
D) Chikmagalur Distt. Near Masanikere close to
Bhadravati.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 31
 1 2
GOA A large number of iron ore deposits
are concentrated here. The banded
haematite quartzite rocks of
precambrian age are generally
confined to pink phyllite horizon.
Ore minerals principally are
haematite with smaller occurrences
of magnetite, limonite and goethite.
MAHARA-SHTRA In Mahara-shtra,iron ore deposits
are found associated with IOG of
Archean. It comprises older schists
and unclassified crystalline overlain
by metamorphosed sedimentary
rock such as quartzite,BHQ, phyllite
etc. Ores are derived mostly from
the BHQ by leaching of silica.
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DID, IRON ORE, 2010
3 4
From NW to SE more than thirty iron ore Principally
deposits have been identified. These are— Haematite (BIF)
1) Advalpale 2) Nanora 3) Bicholem-Sirigao with minor
4) Bordem-Savorna 5) Sanguelim 6) Arvalem amount of
7) Cudnem Dignemsurla 8)Velguem-Pale 9) magnetite,
Pissurlem-Sonshi 10) Usgao 11) Conquirem limonite and
12) Poient-Siudem 13) Sacorda 14) Sonal goethite
Deven 15) Gavarem-Malpona 16) Balcoruem
17)Bimbol-Sigao 18) Suetioli-Taitoli 19) Codli
20) Samtona-Quirlapale 21) Codli 22Dudal
23) Kalay 24) Manlinguem 25) Tolem-Motto 26)
Barazan -Villena 27) Sirigal-Undorna-Angod
28) Rivona-Columba 29) Canvorem-Navelim
30) Sulcorna-Vichundrem 31) Netrolim
32)Camona – Conda 33) Betul
I) Haematite Deposit Haematite (BIF)
A) Sindhudurg Distt. Redi, Tirvade-Ajgaon-
Guldave, Satcli-Starda, Satcli-Talwane,
Talesane-ajgaon, Kalne, Podye Degve-
Banda, Galel, Galel North and Galel South.
B) Chandrapur Distt.: Lohara, Pipalgaon, Asola
C) Gadchiroli Distt.: Surajgarh, Bhamragarh,
Dewalgaon, Puser, Damkodwadvi hill range.
D) Bhandara Distt.: Khursipar, Konholi.
E) Ratnagiri Distt.: Malvan, Kunda, Savantvadi.
F) Minor occurrences from Kolhapur, Nagpur,
Satara(N) Nanded, Yeotmal Districts.
32
 1 2 3 4
ANDHRA Most of iron ore deposits are found I) Haematite deposit Haematite (BIF)
PRADESH associated with rocks of Dharwar A) Anantapur Distt.: Balapuram, Siddapuram,
sediment or Purana formations. Rayadurg Taluk, Malapanangudi,
However low grade iron ore are also Velpurnadugu, Kambadur, Gollapalle,
known from upper Gondwana and Oddapalem, Muchalapalle
laterite cappings on Deccan Traps. B) Cuddapah Distt. : Chabali area, Rajampet,
Both haematite and magnetite Ponduluri Venkatapalli, Erraguntakota,
deposits occur in the state. Mantapampalle, Pendlimari and
Pagadalapalle
C) Kurnool Distt. : Veldurti, Ramallakota.
D) Nellore Distt.: Rassnapalem, Chundi hill,
Polenane, Cheruvu, Swarnamukhi valley.
E) Khammam & Warangal Distts.:
Cheruvupuram, Kottagudem, motala
Timmapur, Nilanche, Bayyaram, Opulapuram Magnetite (BIF)
II) Magnetite deposit
1) Prakasham Distt.
a. Ongole Gr- Pernametta, Ongole,
Konijedu, Sanampudi bands.
b. Gundal kamma gr.– Byrepalle, Errapale,
Timmavaram and Manikeshvaram.
2) Khammam Distt. : Utla, Tatraiyapalli,
Gopalpur
3) Vishakhapatnam Distt- Sitarampur,
Darbanblom Konda
4) East Godavari Distt -Addatigala, Devipuram.
Besides above deposits. iron ores are also
reported from Adilabad, Chittoor, Guntur,
Karimnagar, Krishna, Medak, Nizamabad,
Vishakhapatnam, Srikakulam,and Warringal
districts of Andhra Pradesh.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 33
CHAPTER 6: FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR IRON ORE DEPOSITS IN INDIA

Iron and steel is considered as the backbone of the modern economy. Consumption of steel
is used as a yardstick for measuring industrial growth and socioeconomic development of a
nation. The economic reformation and consequent liberalization of iron and steel sector
brought a remarkable change in core sector industries, particularly in private sector. India
has become self sufficient in iron and steel during the last few years. Iron ore is one of the
basic raw materials for iron and steel industry. India has large resource of good quality iron
ore that can meet the growing demand of domestic iron and steel industries and can sustain
considerable export. Iron ore has been major foreign exchange earner for India.

6.1 DEMAND OF IRON ORE

Iron ores produced in India go mainly either into export or into domestic consumption. India
is a major global player in iron ore production and third in the world trade of iron ore after
Australia and Brazil. Export of iron ore which was 62.5 million tonnes in 2003-04 was
increased to 91.43 million tonnes in 2006-07 and again decreased to 68.47 million tonnes in
2007-08. The growth of steel industry in India during last three/four years also registered a
significant upward trend and expected to swim depending on overall economic growth rate.
Iron ore demand depends on the production of iron and steel which in turn depends largely
on the domestic demand for the same. The prospective investors like Tata steel, Tata-
Corus, Jindal Power and Steel, Global steel giants POSCO, Arcelar Mittal and other major
industrial houses are to invest in steel sector in India. Recent UNCTAD report states of 375
million tonnes new production capacity round the world is likely to be on board by 2007-09.
According to the 11th Plan Working Group on Steel, demand for iron ore would rise to 130
million tonnes by 2011-12. The national steel policy has envisaged the target of steel
production at 110 million tonnes by 2019-2020 which will be requiring ~170 million tonnes of
iron ore. A target set in the national steel policy suggests a production of 300 million tonnes
of iron ore by 2019-20 to meet export and domestic demand.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 34
The path of growth of Indian steel sector was progressing fast before global cash crunch
which has threatened global as well Indian infrastructure sector. Steel production globally
was maintaining a rapid growth with strong performance, but currently moving through a
challenging phase where growth has to fallen substantially both in India as well as in the
international market. Future demand projection will bound to have a set back. Obvious result
will be less demand of iron ore leading to less mining and production. While the current
prospects for Indian iron ores/steel in a global context are debatable, domestic prospects
appear bright. The very long term forecast of iron and steel production and the consequent
demand for iron ore made on optimistic assumptions also show that the steel industry can
remain comfortable with domestic iron ore supplies even with an annual iron ore export of
100 million tonnes till about 2070 at the current estimates of resources in the country.
However in this write up it has been presumed that global economic crunch scenario will
overcome the bad patch and demand for iron ore will increase in future to maintain a steady
growth rate. To achieve the iron ore demand of the future, strategy should be changed for
making available adequate iron ore resources by way of systematic exploration. The real
necessity is for vigorous exploration and exploitation matching domestic requirements,
massive export commitments, value additions as well as infrastructure developments. India
must have clear strategy for next 20-25 years for augmenting the resources with proper
orientation of exploration in geologically potential domains keeping in view the exploitation
of the existing established resources.

6.2 Augmentation of iron ore

Geological potential for hosting yet undiscovered concealed iron ore deposits in India are
very high. Scientific and detailed exploration needs to be carried out in search of new iron
ore deposits for augmentation of resources and to conduct reassessment of existing iron
ore resources to meet the present and future demands of iron ore. India stopped exploration
for iron ore by the largest government agencies like Geological Survey of India and Mineral
Exploration Corporation for two decades towards the end of last century and even after that,
the exploration revival has not yet taken a war footing, such as in many other countries of
the world, to identify new iron ore deposits, to quantitatively establish the detailed geological
parameters or to evaluate mining feasibility etc, in any large scale manner.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 35
Reconnaissance, Prospecting, General exploration data along G axis and Geological Study
along F-axis of UNFC need to be consolidated for identification of prospects for Pre-
feasibility, Feasibility studies (F-axis) in order to evaluate economic viability (Economic
axis). Identification of large deposit should be attempted both by model driven approach and
inductive techniques. It is time now to plan our future exploration strategy in a long term
perspective.

Total resources potentiality of hematite – magnetite iron ore is yet to be known in the
country. GSI through regional exploration and mapping has identified more than 90% of
hematite iron ore deposits of the country. About 80% of magnetite ore is found in South
India in the States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The major
deposits which constitute almost 74% of the total resources (Kudemukh and Bababudan
deposits etc ) lie in forest area in Karnataka(7663.34 million tones). The other deposits with
significant resources lie in Andhra Pradesh 1463.54 million tones, Rajasthan 522.65 million
tones, Tamil Nadu 481.87 million tones and Goa 164.05 million tones. As there is huge
resources of haematite iron ore in the country, estimation of magnetite resources was not a
priority area. Even though the important and large magnetite deposits of then country have
been explored and magnetite ore concentrates and pellets were being produced from
Kudremukh iron ore; exploration for magnetite ore was in a low priority. As there is huge
demand of iron ore in the country, it is important that the magnetite ore bodies are also
assessed to know the total potentiality of iron ore in the country. The banded magnetite
quartzite bands in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan have to
be assessed by regional exploration followed by detailed exploration in the promising areas.

It has been observed in many places that along with mining, iron ore deposits are being
discovered and explored which ultimately has augmented ore resources. It is worth
mentioning that even after extensive mining the resource of hematite iron ore has increased
by 3204 million tones in five years between 2000 and 2005. Even during these period
reserves has also increased from 6025 million tones to 7004 million tonnes. The exploration
was conducted mainly in the leasehold areas by the mining Companies. Out of 14630
million tones of total resources of hematite iron ore resources is 7004 million tones which

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 36
means there is scope to convert 7626 million tones of remaining resources to reserve
through detailed exploration and feasibility studies. Of the total resources of 10619 million
tones of magnetite ore reserves constitute only 206 million tones warranting immediate
exploration to convert resources to reserve.

All these activities will augment the iron ore reserves / resources in the country. In addition,
iron ore occurring in different geological formation, if assessed, will augment the iron ore
resources of the country. Hence there is scope for assessment in new areas and
reassessment in the areas where mining is under operation or under active consideration.
The future exploration activities have to be carried out to augment resources over the
known deposits which were not explored earlier in totality and in greenfield areas of
identified potential domains.

The total potential area for iron ore in different geological domains tentatively identified in
the country is around 7000 sq km. It includes around 6000sq km potential domain in
peninsular India and around 1000 sq. km in extra Peninsular regions of the country. These
potential areas are mainly those geological domains where BIF, which is the host rock for
iron ore, are exposed. Out of the potential areas of 7000sq km, the area explored is around
5900 sq. km. As very scanty and marginal investigation has so far been carried out in the
extra peninsular region of J&K state and Himachal Pradesh, the bulk of 1000 sq km
potential area in the extra peninsular India may be treated as greenfield areas. Thus the
total Greenfield areas within the tentatively identified potential areas in both Peninsular and
extra-Peninsular region is around 2000 sq km which is to be assessed by reconnaissance
mineral investigation under green field area exploration. The remaining explored 5000 sq
km area of the potential domain within the peninsular India warrant reassessment.

a. Scope of Reassessment work in explored areas:

The current estimate does not give a complete picture of India’s iron ore resources. Most of
the resource estimates of iron ore deposits were made at least three decades ago which
were later modified marginally. The reassessment is needed in the following areas:

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 37
I. Exploration by deeper proving: These earlier exploration schemes and the final
estimates were dictated by the then purpose of exploration, the stage of exploration,
the desired category of reserve/resource to be established at the stipulated level of
depth and accuracy, size and type of the deposits etc. In many cases during earlier
exploration within powdery ore or blue dust, drilling was abandoned and resources
were estimated considering blue dust has no economic use. As of now blue dust or
powdery ore has economic interest, hence such deposits have to be reassessed by
carrying out further exploration down to the bottom of powdery ore. It appears in
Malangtoli Group of deposits in Orissa, out of 19 deposits (designated Deposit A to
Deposit S) a total of 13 deposits were explored partly and resources of 300 million
tones of ore were estimated. There is possibility of substantial augmentation of ore
resources if all the deposits are explored up to the desired depth.

Depth of exploration is a key dimension of the resource estimation. According to

industry experts, the assessments made on the potential reserves of iron ore seem to
be based on mining depth of 50 meters with a grid interval of more than 500 meters or
so. But iron ore can be available to far greater depths as has been experienced by
several mines in India itself. For example, in Karnataka, it has been contended that the
reserves are based on a 40 meters depth only whereas mining has been carried out to
a depth of up to 200 meters. The mining industry contends that in other countries the
mining depth has reached more than 200 meters. Mining depth depends on the
specific conditions and there are no uniform geophysical conditions prevailing across
the world. But from the experience so far, there seems to be a good potential for Indian
miners to find more resources by digging deeper. At current prices of iron ore, mining
to such depth is viable.

II. Systematic exploration in leasehold areas: In all the leasehold areas of both private
and public sectors, where maximum quantity of known iron ore resources are locked
in, proper data evaluation is needed to assess the reserve and resources balances and
examine whether the exploration was done in totality or there is still scope to augment
reserves/resources through further exploration. Most of the evaluated resources are of

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 38
 indicated (332) or inferred (333) category. In this context, close spaced deep drilling
may be undertaken to estimate proved reserve (111,121) / resource (331, 321) of iron
ore deposits. Effort should be made for proper planning of exploration in virgin areas
and gaps within the mining leases for searching new resources. GSI has initiated
search for iron ore in parts of Tomka-Daitari belt in Orissa where discontinuous iron ore
bodies are confined within BIF. Prospecting in remaining part of the belt will augment
the ore resources. The total assessment in each property will augment the iron ore
resources in the country.

III. Exploration in Forest areas: Many of the iron ore deposits lie in forest areas. The total
resource potentialities of such deposits are not known. The example being Bailadila
deposits no.2 (part 3,6,7,8,9 and 12) in Chhattisgarh. All these come under forest
areas requiring necessary clearance. Ghatkuri iron ore deposit lying in Jharkhand,
could not be explored due to forest problem. This deposit lies in the belt which host a
number of large iron ore deposits. There are many deposits in forest areas. Such
deposits have to be assessed in totality to augment iron ore resources in the country.

IV. Exploration of iron ore beyond BHJ/BHQ: Steps may be taken to examine for
availability of iron ore resources beyond the BHJ/BHQ Formations

V. Reassessment due to lowered cut-off: Previously the resource and reserves were
calculated based on arbitrary 55% Fe as cut off to produce a mineable ore but recently
IBM has lowered threshold value of iron ore to +45% Fe. The lowest grade which can
be economically exploited at a particular time is the cut off grade. The level of cut off
grade varies and is determined by market conditions keeping obviously the
conservation point of view as these are non-renewable resources. Earlier enriched
banded iron formation (BIF) containing 45-55% Fe was not considered as ore. New ore
enrichment techniques have made the use of lower grade ore and there is availability
of such type of ore, but quantity of such ore is unknown because that low grade
material was not estimated earlier. It has been geologically observed that in many iron
ore deposits, iron ore (+55% Fe) on the top passes through enriched BIF (50-55% Fe)

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 39
 to BIF (<50% Fe) due to supergene enrichment. In earlier occasions enriched BIF with
50-55% Fe was not considered as ore and does not figure in the resource table. As the
cut-off grade is lowered from 55%m to 45% Fe, the material with 50 % Fe to (+) 45%
Fe will form part of iron ore.

The new prospects and area within existing mine requires reassessment through
optimization based on economic grade and scheduled for production based on market
demand. Such exercise would obviously enhance the resource base to a great extent.
A well designed exploration programme need to be mounted in the explored area for low
grade (+45%Fe) iron ore which occurs in one of the following modes:
a. Low grade partings within the high grade ore (Shaly ore).
b. In hanging wall and footwall side of the ore zone or as separate bands.
c. On top in the lateritic profile (Lateritic and limonitic ore)
d. As bottom of established ore within zone of enrichment above proto ore.

b. New Prospective areas for iron ore exploration:

Although economically viable deposits can exist in different geological setups, exploration
for iron ore was mostly confined to Banded Iron Formation (BHQ/BHJ/BMQ) where bulk of
the country’s deposits exists. GSI has initiated steps to identify new potential areas for iron
ore occurrence both in BIF and also in other non BIF hosted setup like: i) prospect of iron
ore in structurally controlled domains in the form of vein forming mineral occurrences in
cratonic portions of Peninsular India ii) ferruginous metamorphosed argillitic sequences in
different Precambrian-early Proterozoic terrains of extra peninsula iii) Magmatic iron ore
occurrences associated with intrusive mafic rocks in granulite terrains of Southern
Peninsular India and iv) other geologically favourable domains of Rajasthan and Lower
Assam. An area of around 5000 sq km has been tentatively identified for reconnaissance
stage investigation (G-4 stage) to narrow down the target areas for future intensified mineral
search through progressive higher stages of investigation. The favorable potential segments
identified for reconnaissance stage investigation in these new Greenfield areas are as
follows:

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 40
(a) Mahakoshal fold belts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
(b) Pur-Banera and other similar belts of Mangalwar complex of Rajasthan.
(c) Favourable portions within the Granulite terrain of southern peninsula, particularly in
Tamil Nadu.
(d) Potential portions within supra crustal belts of southern peninsula, particularly Andhra
Pradesh.
(e) Granulite belts of the Archaean gneissic complex of lower Assam.
(f) Metamorphosed Precambrian sequences of the J&K state and metamorphosed
Proterozoic sequences of Himachal Pradesh.

6.3 Optimal utilization of iron ore:

In order to achieve the optimal utilization of iron ore in any deposit, the mineable cut off in
the light of lowering of threshold value of haematitic ore is of utmost importance and grade-
wise inventory of ores are the demand of the day and therefore scheduling of the deposit is
essential through optimization. Optimization is necessary in planning and development of
iron ore deposits. Scheduling of deposits help in creating stock piles of lower grade material
that could be blended back later in the mines life thereby enhancing the reserve base. The
method works on a regular block model of the ore body and constructs lists of the blocks
that should or should not be mined. A series of scheduling of blocks need be created.
Different ROM products need be considered and stored as data in blocks. Each block
should figure total rock volume, tonnage and grade. Various types of blending of ore could
either be sent to the customer or to separate high and low grade Fe and contaminant stock
piles for reclaiming. Another significant statistics is the use of iron ore fines. In 2005-06, out
of total production of 154.4 million tonnes of iron ore in India 87.9 million tonnes was fine
which constitute 56.9% of total production. Since the market of iron ore is expanding and
there would be enough scope for utilization of the beneficiated fines, it is an opportunity to
look into an acquisition of such resources and work them with beneficiation projects for
value addition. This fact signifies the necessity for pelletisation/sinter plants for optimal use
of iron ore. For optimal utilization of ore, the regulatory body should be vigilant.

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DID, IRON ORE, 2010 41