Deposits of Iron Ore found in Karauli, Rajasthan

The Rajasthan Mines Department has found deposits of over 840 million tonnes of iron ore in Khoda, Dadaroli, Todupura, and Liloti near Hindon in Karauli. 

About Exploration of Iron ore

• The department is preparing to auction a composite license for iron ore blocks covering approximately 1,888 hectares.
• Preliminary exploration indicates that both magnetite and hematite of iron ore have been found. 
• The iron ore deposits are spread over 462.3 hectares at Khoda, 754.38 hectares at Dadaroli, 260.71 hectares at Todupura and 410.94 hectares at Liloti. 
• The area is rich in magnetite of magnetic nature and hematite iron ore of normal nature. The auction of the composite license will lead to further exploration, which is likely to yield more deposits of iron ore in the area.
• The discovery of iron ore in Karauli will boost industrial investment in the state. 
• Steel and cement industries will get a significant boost, and many industries, including iron ore steel, coal washing, ferroalloy, foundries, ceramic and cement industries, will get raw material for years. 
• This will lead to the setting up of new industries and create employment and income opportunities in the state.
• The exploration work is going on at other places in Rajasthan, and mining and exploration work of iron ore is going on in Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Bhilwara, Sikar, Alwar, etc.

About Iron Ores

• Iron ores are natural mineral combinations that are found in deposits on the Earth's surface. These ores can be processed with the help of reducing agents such as coke to obtain metallic iron in the presence of heat and other favorable conditions. 
• Iron ore deposits are usually found in sedimentary rocks that have formed over a long period of time due to the accumulation of sediments.

Types of Iron Ore

• Hematite is a reddish ore that contains almost 70% of metallic iron and is considered the best quality iron ore available on earth. 
• Magnetite is the second-best ore in terms of iron content and is black with 60-70% metallic iron content. It is also known to have magnetic properties. 
• Limonite is yellowish and has around 40-60% metallic iron content. This ore is inferior in quality when compared to Hematite and Magnetite. 
• Siderite is another low-quality iron ore that contains only 40% of metallic iron and has several impurities, making it not economically viable.

Iron ore Deposits in Rajasthan

About 2621 million tons of resources of Iron–Ore (Both Hematite & Magnetite) are estimated in the State. 

The important localities of Iron-Ore are 

• Morija- Neemala (Jaipur), 
• Lalsot (Dausa), 
• Rampura, Dabla (Sikar), 
• Indergarh, Mohanpura (Bundi),
• Taonda (Jhunjhunu), 
• Pur-Banera, Bigod (Bhilwara), 
• Nathara-Ki-Pal, Thur (Udaipur), 
• Dedrauli, Liloti, Todupura, Khoda (Karauli).