Describe the major iron ore belts in India.
The major iron ore belts in India are given below : (1) Orissa-Jharkhand belt : High grade haematite ore is found in Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts. Gua and Noamundi in Singbhum district of Jharkhand. (2) Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt: It is in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Very high grade haematite is found in Bailadila hills in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. It is exported to Japan and South Korea via Vishakhapatnam. The range of hills comprise of 14 deposits of super high grade haematite iron ore. It has the best physical properties needed for steel making. (3) Bellary-Chitradurga-Chikmaglur-Tumkur belt: It is in Karnataka. Kudremukh mines in the Western Ghats of Karnataka are a 100% export unit. Kudremukh deposits are the largest in the world. The ore is transported as slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangalore. (4) Maharashtra-Goa belt: In the state of Goa and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Iron ores are not of very high quality, but efficiently exploited and exported through Marmagao port.
