An 1-billion-tonne iron ore deposit was found in northern Hebei Province, official said Saturday.

The 6-km long deposit is 41.43 to 108.95 meters thick on average and lies 100 to 600 meters deep underground, said Zhang Shaolian, head of Hebei Provincial Bureau of Land and Resources.

The deposit, in Hebei's Luannan County, was the largest ever found in China since the 1980s, Zhang said.

In addition to the proved 1.04-billion-tonne iron ore, the deposit has an estimated unproved reserve of 500 million tonnes, Zhang added.

The deposit is shallow and comparatively easy for mining, he said.

The No.1 Geological Exploration Institute of China Metallurgical Geology Bureau, who had been prospecting the area since February 2008, issued a report with details of the deposit including its reserves, Zhang said.

The report was reviewed and approved on Aug. 12 jointly by central and provincial land and resources reserve evaluation authorities, he added.