Iron ore mining in Karnataka

The Supreme Court has raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining for Bellary, Chitradurga, and Tumkur districts in Karnataka. The court ruled that conservation of the ecology and environment must go hand in hand with the spirit of economic development.

Details –

• The Supreme Court has raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining for Bellary, Chitradurga, and Tumkur districts in Karnataka.
• The court added that the situation in the state had “vastly changed” since the time a ban was imposed on mining in these districts in 2011.

Background –

• Acting on reports of rampant illegal mining, the Supreme Court had prohibited all mining activity in Bellary, followed by Chitradurga and Tumkur in August, 2011.
• The court directed disposal of the accumulated iron ore through the process of e-auction conducted by the Monitoring Committee and also constituted a Special Purpose Vehicle to take mitigating measures.
• In May 2022, the court after considering petitions, had allowed the “already excavated stock” to be sold directly without resorting to e-auction. The petitions said the e-auctions conducted by the Monitoring Committee had received poor response and sale of iron ore even at the reserve price is dismally low.
• Subsequently, the court has also allowed to increase the ceiling limit of iron ore mining in the three districts.

Important statistics –

• Iron ore is the source of primary iron for the world’s iron and steel industries.
• Almost all iron ore (98%) is converted into pig iron which is further used for steel making which is then used in construction, transportation, energy infrastructure and household appliances.
• Iron ore is mined in about 50 countries. Australia and Brazil together dominate the world’s iron ore exports, each having about one-third of total exports. Australia is the leading global producer of iron ore, accounting for 38% of the total production.

Iron ore reserves in India –

• With the total resources of over 33.276 billion tonnes of hematite and magnetite, India is amongst the leading producers of iron ore in the world. Of the two, magnetite is considered to be superior because of its higher grade.
• About 79% hematite ore deposits are found in the Eastern Sector (Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha & Uttar Pradesh) while about 93% magnetite ore deposits occur in Southern Sector (Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, & Tamil Nadu). Karnataka alone contributes 72% of magnetite deposit in India
• India is the third-largest producer of iron ore in the world.