Question

 

Ilmenite and rutile, abundantly available in certain coastal tracts of India, are rich sources of which one of the following?

 

A. Aluminium

B. Copper

C. Iron

D. Titanium

 

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Answer

 

The correct answer is D. Titanium

 

India is endowed with large resources of heavy minerals which occur mainly along coastal stretches of the country and also in inland placers. Heavy mineral sands comprise a group of seven minerals, viz, ilmenite, leucoxene (brown ilmenite), rutile, zircon, sillimanite, garnet and monazite. Ilmenite (FeO.TiO2) and rutile (TiO2) are the two chief minerals of titanium. Titanium dioxide occurs in polymorphic forms as rutile, anatase (octahedrite) and brookite. Though, Brookite is not found on a large-scale in nature, it is an alteration product of other titanium minerals. Leucoxene is an alteration product of ilmenite and found associated with ilmenite.

 

Ilmenite and rutile along with other heavy minerals are important constituents of beach sand deposits found right from Ratnagiri coast (Maharashtra) in the west to Odisha coast in the east. These minerals are concentrated in five well defined zones:

 

1. Over a stretch of 22 km between Neendakara and Kayamkulam, Kollam district, Kerala (known as 'Chavara' deposit after the main mining centre).
2. Over a stretch of 6 km from the mouth of Valliyar river to Colachal, Manavalakurichi and little beyond in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu (known as MK deposit).
3. On Chatrapur coast stretching for 18 km between Rushikulya river mouth and Gopalpur lighthouse with an average width of 1.4 km in Ganjam district, Odisha (known as 'OSCOM' deposit after IREL's Orissa Sands Complex).
4. Brahmagiri deposit stretches over 30 km from Girala nala to Bhabunia villages with an average width of 1.91 km in Puri district, Odisha.
5. Bhavanapadu coast between Nilarevu and Sandipeta with 25 km length and 700 m average width in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh.

 

The AMD of the Department of Atomic Energy has been carrying out exploration of these mineral deposits.

 

Source: ibm.gov.in