Noamundi is a census town in Pashchimi Singhbhum district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also an administrative block.[1] It is a small mining town located close to the Odisha border. It lies near to Jamshedpur and 64 km (40 mi) from Chaibasa. Nearby towns include Padapahar, Barajamda, Kharsawan, Gua and Kiriburu.The major produce of this mine is iron ore (including blue dust). The mines are run by the Tata Steel and most of the residents of this town are employed by this company.In the recent past a lot of private mine-owners have also set up shop in and around the town. A Pelletizing Plant of Tata Steel to convert blue dust to pellets, suitable for use in blast furnace functioned here from 1972 to 1986 but was closed down because it was not economically viable . The town is the right on the border of Jharkhand and Odisha with some of the iron-mines spanning the two states.The portion of iron mining area of Noamundi in the state of Odisha is called Katamati. Legend has it that when the first iron ore explorers came to this region, they were amazed to find the local tribal population (Adivasis) using iron axes. When the explorers asked the tribals where they had found the ore, they pointed to a hill nearby and called it Noamundi, which literally means 'that hill' in their language. The native tribal are known as Ho people and their language is also known by the same name, Ho. In spite of the commodity boom across the world over the last couple of years and the consequent effect of this on the area around Noamundi, the trickle down effect of this boom on the local Adivasi population has been negligible.Illegal mining thrives and is the rule rather than the exception.The result is the increased popularity of the Naxal movement in this area and in greater Jharkhand.
