Which of these states in India was ranked first in iron-ore reserves (2020 - 21)?

Question

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Correct — C, Karnataka. India's iron ore comes in two families: haematite (Fe2O3), the high-grade ore that is actually mined, and magnetite (Fe3O4), the magnetic and theoretically richer ore that is largely locked up in Western Ghats forest terrain. In the National Mineral Inventory maintained by the Indian Bureau of Mines, India's total iron-ore resources come to roughly 33 billion tonnes — about 22.5 billion tonnes of haematite and about 10.8 billion tonnes of magnetite. Karnataka holds close to three-quarters of the national magnetite (the Bababudan-Kudremukh and Sandur belts) plus a substantial slice of the haematite, and that combination puts it first in total iron-ore reserves and resources, ahead of Odisha.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Jharkhand is a heavyweight in haematite — roughly a quarter of India's haematite resources, in the Singhbhum belt around Noamundi and Gua — but it has almost no magnetite, so on total iron-ore resources it stays behind Karnataka.  (b) The most tempting option, and it is first on two other measures: Odisha leads the country in haematite resources (about a third of the national total, in the Keonjhar-Sundargarh-Mayurbhanj belt) and is by a distance India's largest producer of iron ore. But haematite alone, and production, are not the same as total reserves — once magnetite is counted, Karnataka is ahead.  (d) Chhattisgarh holds roughly a sixth to a fifth of India's haematite — the Bailadila and Dalli-Rajhara deposits that feed the Bhilai steel plant — which places it third among the haematite states, not first overall.

Concept: Two distinctions settle almost every iron-ore question. First, ore type: haematite is what India mines and exports (high-grade Indian haematite runs around 60-65% iron), while magnetite is richer still (about 72% iron when pure) but sits mostly under forest in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala and is barely worked. Second, resources versus production: a state can hold the largest deposit and still not be the largest miner. Karnataka holds the biggest total resource because of its magnetite; Odisha digs out the most ore.

State PCS 2025 Q79 — Geography PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q79 — Geography PYQ with Answer