The Kudremukh iron ore mine is located in which state?

Kudremukh is a mountain range and hill station in the Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, in the Western Ghats. The name "Kudremukh" means "horse face" in Kannada, from the shape of one of its peaks, which looks like the face of a horse.

Kudremukh was known for its huge deposits of magnetite iron ore. The Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL), a public sector company set up in 1976, mined iron ore there and processed it into concentrate and pellets for export. The ore was carried as slurry through a long pipeline (about 67 kilometres) to the port of New Mangalore, from where it was exported, largely to Iran and other countries.

However, Kudremukh lies in one of the richest biodiversity regions of the Western Ghats, with dense shola forests and grasslands. It is also the source of important rivers, such as the Tunga, Bhadra and Netravati. Environmentalists argued that mining was causing deforestation and silting of the Bhadra river. In 1987, the Kudremukh National Park was declared, covering about 600 square kilometres. In 2002, the Supreme Court ordered mining to stop, and the mine was closed at the end of 2005. KIOCL now runs a pellet plant at Mangaluru using ore from other places.

The park is home to animals such as the lion-tailed macaque, tigers, leopards, gaur and many endemic birds and amphibians.

India's main iron ore producing states are Odisha (the largest producer), Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Goa. Important iron ore mines include Bailadila (Chhattisgarh), Noamundi (Jharkhand), Gua (Jharkhand), and Joda and Barbil (Odisha). Haematite and magnetite are the main iron ores found in India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Odisha is the largest producer of iron ore in India, with mines in the Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts.
• ✗Jharkhand has iron ore mines at Noamundi and Gua.
• ✗Goa has iron ore deposits, mostly exported through Mormugao port.