The Kursk Magnetic Anomaly and its Development

The iron-ore deposits of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly include both tremendous reserves of quartzite at great depths and smaller reserves of high-grade ores accessible both to surface and underground mines. Exploitation of the KMA has been underway only since 1952, when the first experimental quartzite mine opened. Large-scale production of commercial ore began only in 1959. The KMA area is pictured as one of the principal Soviet iron and steel producers of the future.