Two qualities of iron ore:
1. Iron ore is the basic mineral and the backbone of industrial development.
2. It provides a strong base for the development of metallurgical industries. They are of two types: Magnetite and Hematite.
1. Magnetite: It is the finest iron ore. It has a very high content of iron up to 70 per cent. It has excellent magnetic qualities, especially valuable in the electrical industry.
2. Hematite: This ore is the most important industrial iron ore. It is the largest used iron ore in terms of the quantity in India. It has slightly lower iron content than magnetite. (50-60 per cent).
The major iron-ore producing states are Karnataka, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Goa and Jharkhand.
