The Largest Reserve of Iron Ore in India

Q. Out of the following types of iron ore, the reserve of which type largest in India?

A. Hematite
B. Magnetite
C. Siderite
D. Limonite
E. None of these

Answer: Hematite

Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe
3O
4, 72.4% Fe), hematite (Fe
2O
3, 69.9% Fe), goethite (FeO(OH), 62.9% Fe), limonite (FeO(OH)·n(H₂O), 55% Fe) or siderite (FeCO₃, 48.2% Fe).

Ores containing very high quantities of hematite or magnetite (greater than about 60% iron) are known as "natural ore" or "direct shipping ore", meaning they can be fed directly into iron-making blast furnaces. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel—98% of the mined iron ore is used to make steel. Indeed, it has been argued that iron ore is "more integral to the global economy than any other commodity, except perhaps oil".

Types of Iron Ore

• Haematite, Magnetite, Limonite & Siderite.

Haematite

• Reddish; best quality; 70 percent metallic content.
• Found in Dharwad and Cuddapah rock systems of peninsular India.
• 80 percent of haematite reserves are in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
• In the western section, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa have 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 percent 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 percent iron.
• Contains many impurities {previous post}; mining is not economically variable.
• However, it is self-fluxing due to the presence of lime.