Read the source given below and answer the question that follows:

Odisha-Jharkhand belt: In Odisha, high-grade hematite ore is found in the Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts. In the adjoining Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, hematite iron ore is mined in Gua and Noamundi.

Durg-Bastar: Chandrapur belt lies in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Very high-grade hematites are found in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. The range of hills comprises 14 deposits of super high-grade hematite iron ore. It has the best physical properties needed for steel making. Iron ore from the mines is exported to Japan and South Korea via Visakhapatnam port.

Ballari-Chitradurga: Chikkamagaluru Tumakuru belt in Karnataka has large reserves of iron ore. The kudremukh mines located in the Western Ghats of Karnataka are a 100 percent export unit. Kudremukh deposits are known to be one of the largest in the world. The ore is transported as slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangalore. Odisha is the largest producer of manganese ores in India. It accounted for one-third of the country’s total production in 2000-01.

Answer the following MCQ by choosing the most appropriate option:

Which is the largest producer of manganese in India?