5 new iron ore deposits in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh geologists have discovered five new deposits of iron ore in four districts of the state.

The deposits possible contain more than 70 million tonne (mn.t.) of iron-ore, state government officials said.

The new deposits were discovered in an extensive survey conducted by the geologists with the directorate of geology and mining of Chhattisgarh government for last one year.

The geologists initially found five deposits of iron ore with total possible reserves of 71 mn.t., officials added.

The new deposits have been found in Kawardha, Kanker, Bastar and Dantewada districts of the state. While two deposits with possible reserves of 40 mn.t. were identified in Kawardha district, one each was found in the other three districts.

The officials quoting the survey reports said, Kanker's Aaradongri area contains 11 mn.t. of iron ore while Bastar's Raoghat has a reserve of 15 mn.t..

The fifth deposit was discovered in Dantewada district's Bailadila area, which is known for containing best quality iron ore deposits in the world.

The country's biggest iron-ore producer and exporters""the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC)""has been operating five mines in Bailadila.

The officials said that a possible reserve of 5 mn.t. had been found in Bailadila area.

Currently Bailadila produces around 20 million tonne of high grade iron ore.

However, 8 blocks in the Bailadila region are yet to be surveyed.

With a 2336 million tonne of iron ore deposit in the state, Chhattisgarh shares 16.20 per cent of the total iron ore deposit in the country.

It is ranked among the three biggest iron-ore producers in the country.

The state produced 25 mn.t. of iron ore worth Rs 1153.59 crore in 2005-06 while in 2006-07 (till January 2007), it had produced 18 mn.t..