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National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

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is mostly <strong>of</strong> low grade magnetite. Hence, India is among the few countries in the world withvery large pockets <strong>of</strong> high grade iron ore deposits.7.26 As per the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) system, resources aredivided into reserves and remaining resources. Reserves are further classified as provenreserves and base reserves. For discovering resources, regional exploration is required. Forconverting resources into base reserves and proven reserves, detailed exploration is required.The world’s resources and reserves are not static and have been growing over the years.According to the United States Geological Survey, the world’s reserve base <strong>of</strong> iron ore is 370billion tonnes and the reserves (ready for recovery) are 160 billion tonnes. The current rate <strong>of</strong>consumption being one billion tonne a year, the reserves can last for 160–370 years.Countries with steel mills can access iron ore from countries with iron ore. The steel mills <strong>of</strong>Japan and Korea, two <strong>of</strong> the main producers <strong>of</strong> steel, access their iron ore from Australia andBrazil, two <strong>of</strong> the main producers <strong>of</strong> iron ore.7.27 Indian resources and reserves <strong>of</strong> iron ore, which have now been made compatible withthe international UNFC classification, have also not been static and have been increasing overthe years. The resource position as on 1 January 1980, 1 April 1990, and 1 April 2000 isshown in Table 7.4.Table 7.4: Iron Ore Resources and Production, 1980, 1990, and 2000(million tonnes)GradeResourcesas on1January1980Productionduring1980–90Resourcesas on1 April1990Differenceinresourcesbetween1980 and1990Produc-tionduring1990–2000Resources as on1 April 2000*Iron ore 11,469 12,197 +728 (a)Reserves: 6025(b) Remainingresources: 6881**Total: 12,906**Magnetite 6095 10,590 +4495 (a)Reserves: 286(b) Remainingresources: 10,396Total: 10,682Total 17,564 470 22,787 +5223 656 (a)Reserves: 6311(b) Remainingresources:17,277**Total: 23,588**Note: * Reassessed as per UNFC; **Includes 1480 million tonnes <strong>of</strong> prospective resourcesSource: Indian Bureau <strong>of</strong> <strong>Mines</strong>, Nagpur.Differencein resourcesbetween1990 and2000+709+92+801150

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