KanjamaJai
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
KanjamaJai
Hill in the District and taluk of Salem, Madras, situ- ated in 11° 37' N. and 78 degree 4' E., and 3,238 feet in height. It is a con- spicuous object in the Salem landscape, with its hog-backed shape and its serrated ridges, and is widely known for its rich stores of magnetic iron ore. There are five separate beds of this, and the supply is almost inexhaustible. It often contains as much as 40 per cent, of iron. Vast quantities of the ore of these beds have rolled down the sides of the hill, especially to the south, where not only does the extensive talus consist mainly of it, but the fields for one or two miles from the hill are thickly strewn with rolled fragments of all sizes. The Kanjamaiai iron was the source of supply of the ill-fated Porto Novo Iron Company, which erected blast furnaces at Porto Novo in the early years of the nineteenth century, but eventually collapsed. Since then no mining has been done here. Two firms hold licences to prospect in the hill, but no definite steps have yet been taken to extract any ore. At the foot of the hill is the famous temple of Siddharkovil.
