Iron Ore Exploration, Geo-spatial, Geo-chemical Techniques

In India, studies have mainly centered on the economic aspects of the iron ores. On the other hand, the detailed information on conditions of deposition, nature of depositional basin, stratigraphy, structure, tectonics, geochemistry, mineralogy, diagenetic changes, metamorphism and paleo-ecology of iron ore deposits of granulite terrain of India are scanty. The main problems pertaining to iron ore study are 1. the iron ore deposits confinement to Precambrian time only, 2. the factors responsible for the development of laminations in iron and silica bands, 3. the sources for the enormous quantities of iron and silica, 4. the nature of their transportation and deposition and 5. the nature of the primary minerals. The literature reviews suggest that only few attempts have been made on mapping and exploration of such low - grade iron ore deposits of granulite region of Tamil Nadu and no detailed investigations on petrography, geochemistry, geochemical modeling of such iron ore deposits using recent advanced analytical instruments, remote sensing and geo-spatial techniques.Therefore, the present study on the mapping and exploration of iron ore deposits of Tirthamalai region, TamilNadu.