Explain the significance of iron-ore as industrial raw material and describe its distribution in India.
Show Hint
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Significance of Iron Ore as Industrial Raw Material (3 Marks):
Iron ore is the basic mineral foundation of modern industrial economies:
• Backbone of Modern Industrial Infrastructure: It is the primary raw material for the Iron and Steel Industry. Steel is utilized to manufacture industrial machinery, transport equipment (trains, ships, automobiles, aircraft), agricultural tools, civil infrastructure (bridges, dams, skyscrapers), and household appliances.
• High-Grade Abundance in India: India is endowed with some of the finest quality iron ore deposits in the world, primarily containing Hematite (red-ore, possessing $60\%$ to $70\%$ metallic iron content) and Magnetite (black-ore, highly magnetic, containing up to $72\%$ metallic iron). These ores have low sulfur and phosphorus impurities, making them highly desirable.
• Strategic Export Value: High-grade iron ore is a major source of foreign exchange for India. Surplus ore is exported extensively to industrialized nations like Japan, South Korea, and China.
Step 2: Geological Association of Iron Ore in India:
Iron ore deposits in India are geologically linked to the ancient crystalline metamorphic rocks of the Dharwar Geological System, primarily located in the Peninsular Plateau region.
Step 3: Distribution of Iron Ore in India (2 Marks):
The spatial distribution of iron ore is concentrated within four major geographic belts:
• Odisha-Jharkhand Belt:
• Odisha: High-grade hematite ore is mined from the Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj district, as well as major deposits in Kendujhar (Keonjhar) and Sundergarh.
• Jharkhand: Home to some of the oldest mines like Noamundi and Gua in the West Singhbhum district.
• Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur Belt (Chhattisgarh & Maharashtra):
• Chhattisgarh: Very high-grade hematite is extracted from the world-famous Bailadila range in the Dantewada district. The ore here is exceptionally pure and is exported to Japan and South Korea via the Visakhapatnam port.
• Dalli-Rajhara mines in the Durg district supply iron ore directly to the Bhilai Steel Plant.
• Bellary-Chitradurga-Chikmagalur-Tumkur Belt (Karnataka):
• Prominent deposits are found in the Sandur-Hospet region and the Baba Budan Giri hills in Chikmagalur. Kudremukh mines (known for exporting iron-ore slurry via pipeline to Mangalore port) contain massive magnetite reserves.
• Maharashtra-Goa Belt:
• Includes mines in the state of Goa and the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. These mines are located close to ports, facilitating efficient, low-cost maritime export.
Top CBSE CLASS XII Geography Questions
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Hunting and Food Gathering
The earliest human beings depended on their immediate environment for their sustenance. They subsisted on: (a) animals which they hunted; and (b) the edible plants which they gathered from forests in the vicinity. Primitive societies depended on wild animals. People located in very cold and extremely hot climates survived on hunting. The people in the coastal areas still catch fish though fishing has experienced modernisation due to technological development. Many species, now have become extinct or endangered due to illegal hunting (poaching). The early hunters used primitive tools made of stones, twigs or arrows so the number of animals killed was limited. Gathering and hunting are the oldest economic activity known. These are carried out at different levels with different orientations. Gathering is practised in regions with harsh climatic conditions. It often involves primitive societies, who extract both plants and animals to satisfy their needs for food, shelter and clothing. This type of activity requires a small amount of capital investment and operates at very low levels of technology. The yield per person is very low and little or no surplus is produced.- Examine the role of climate, water availability, and soil fertility on the distribution of world population.
- Examine three stages of demographic transition theory.
- Study the map of Rhine waterways and answer the questions that follow:
- Explain the main features of National Highways in India.
Top CBSE CLASS XII Minerals and Energy Resources Questions
- Name a major area of ‘extensive commercial grain farming’ of South America.
- Arrange the following states from the highest to the lowest order according to their production of Bauxite and choose the correct option.
I. Odisha
II. Gujarat
III. Chhattisgarh
IV. Madhya Pradesh - Explain the significance of petroleum as major source of energy and describe its distribution in India.
Top CBSE CLASS XII Questions
- 2, b, c are in A.P. and the range of determinant $\begin{vmatrix}1&1&1\\ 2&b&c\\ 4&b^{2}&c^{2}\end{vmatrix}$ is [2, 16]. Then find range of c is
- A boy of mass 50 kg is standing at one end of a, boat of length 9 m and mass 400 kg. He runs to the other, end. The distance through which the centre of mass of the boat boy system moves is
- A capillary tube of radius r is dipped inside a large vessel of water. The mass of water raised above water level is M. If the radius of capillary is doubled, the mass of water inside capillary will be
- A circular disc is rotating about its own axis. An external opposing torque 0.02 Nm is applied on the disc by which it comes rest in 5 seconds. The initial angular momentum of disc is
- A circular disc is rotating about its own axis at uniform angular velocity \(\omega.\) The disc is subjected to uniform angular retardation by which its angular velocity is decreased to \(\frac {\omega}{2}\) during 120 rotations. The number of rotations further made by it before coming to rest is