Ferrous Minerals

Ferrous minerals have iron as the main base: iron ore, manganese, chromite, nickel, cobalt, tungsten. They are the backbone of the steel industry.

Iron ore

• Types: Haematite (best, 60-70 percent iron, red), Magnetite (best quality, 72 percent iron, black), limonite (yellow, lower grade), siderite.
• India is among the top five producers of iron ore.
• Leading states by production: Odisha (the top), Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Goa.
• Major mining areas:
  • Odisha: Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar (Gandhamardan, Badampahar, Kiriburu in Jharkhand borders), Sundargarh.
  • Jharkhand: Noamundi, Singhbhum.
  • Chhattisgarh: Bailadila (Dantewada/Bastar; the best quality magnetite and haematite), Dalli-Rajhara.
  • Karnataka: Bellary-Hospet, Kudremukh (the high grade magnetite deposit, mining stopped 2005), Chikmagalur, Baba Budan Hills.
  • Goa: Mormugao exports.
  • Maharashtra: Chandrapur, Ratnagiri.
• Exports from Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Mormugao.

Manganese

• Used in steel alloys (10 kg per tonne of steel), dry cell batteries, paint, glass.
• Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat) leads; Maharashtra (Nagpur-Bhandara), Odisha (Keonjhar, Bonai, Koraput), Karnataka, Andhra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand. Orissa mines are the largest.

Chromite

• Used in stainless steel and alloys, tanning.
• Odisha produces nearly all of India's chromite (Sukinda valley, Jajpur).

Others

• Nickel: Odisha (Sukinda), Jharkhand. Tungsten: Rajasthan (Degana, Nagaur) and Karnataka. Cobalt: small.
• Vanadium, titanium (ilmenite): Kerala coast, Tamil Nadu coast, Odisha beach sands.

Table: iron and manganese leaders