Mineral & Energy Resources - Free MCQ Practice Test with solutions, UPSC

1 and 2 only

Statement 1 - Correct. China is the world's largest producer of zinc. The principal ore is sphalerite (ZnS), and commercial recovery commonly uses froth flotation, followed by roasting and electrowinning or other refining steps.

Statement 2 - Correct. Chile is the world's leading producer of copper. The most important copper ore is chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), and large-scale open-pit mines in Chile supply a major share of global copper.

Statement 3 - Incorrect. The largest producer of manganese is South Africa (with significant production also from Australia, China and Gabon). The principal manganese ore is pyrolusite (MnO2); Russia is not the top producer.

Conclusion: Only statements 1 and 2 are correct.

1 - 4 - 3 - 2

Ordering is determined by latitude (higher latitude = further north). The latitudes of the four terminals are: Mundra - 22.8°N; Hazira - 21.1°N; Ennore - 13.2°N; Kochi - 9.9°N.

Since 22.8°N >21.1°N >13.2°N >9.9°N, the correct north-to-south sequence is Mundra → Hazira → Ennore → Kochi, i.e., 1 - 4 - 3 - 2.

Iron ore - these deposits supply the primary raw material for the iron and steel industries.

Carajás (Pará, Brazil) is one of the world's largest high-grade iron-ore districts (mined by Vale); Kiruna (northern Sweden) is a major magnetite iron-ore mine (operated by LKAB); and Kryvyi Rih (Krivoy Rog, Ukraine) is a large iron-ore basin that has been a key source of ore for Ukrainian industry.

Common iron-ore types include magnetite (about 72% Fe in pure form), hematite (typically 60-70% Fe in high-grade ores), siderite (about 48% Fe), and various hydrated oxides grouped as limonite (variable, generally lower grade, roughly 30-50% Fe depending on composition).

These deposits are globally important: major producers include Brazil and Australia (large exported volumes), while countries such as Russia, China, Ukraine, and Sweden are significant both for reserves and for supplying domestic steel industries.

B: 3-2-1-4

Wind is a site-specific and intermittent renewable energy resource; installed capacity in a state depends on available wind resource (wind speed and consistency), development of large projects, transmission access and state policy incentives.

The option above denotes the ascending sequence by state number: 3 < 2 < 1 < 4 (the third-listed state has the smallest share and the fourth-listed state the largest share of installed wind capacity among the four).

Explanation for this ranking: the state in the fourth position has accumulated the largest installed wind capacity because of long coastal wind belts and large-scale wind-farm development driven by favorable project activity and grid integration. The state in the first position has substantial historical capacity from early development but is placed third in this ordering because the fourth-position state has added more capacity in recent years. The states in the second and third positions have progressively smaller cumulative installations due to comparatively lower levels of large-scale deployment and slower project addition.

This ordering is consistent with the state-wise cumulative installed wind-capacity figures published by central agencies (for example, state reports from the MNRE and the CEA) that track and publish cumulative capacity by state; those figures are the basis for ranking shares of installed wind energy.

Only two

Ferrous metallic minerals are those that contain iron (Fe) as a principal component; NCERT/CBSE classifications list iron ore, manganese, chromite and nickel under ferrous minerals.

Chromite is an iron-bearing oxide with formula FeCr2O4, so it is ferrous. Nickel is also treated as a ferrous mineral in standard classifications (it commonly occurs with iron in ores and is used in alloying with iron).

Aluminium (from bauxite) and zinc are non-ferrous metals; they do not have iron as their principal component.

Therefore, two of the four named minerals are ferrous: chromite and nickel.

Only two

Two of the mines - Aikhal and Udachny - are located in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russian Federation, which lies in Asia. Jwaneng is in Botswana (Africa) and Ekati is in the Northwest Territories, Canada (North America). Therefore, exactly two of the listed mines are in Asia.

Only three

Statement-wise evaluation: 1 - Gujarat: True. The pipeline originates at Hazira (Gujarat).

2 - Maharashtra: False. The HVJ trunk does not pass through Maharashtra.

3 - Madhya Pradesh: True. The pipeline runs via Vijaipur (Madhya Pradesh).

4 - Uttar Pradesh: True. The HVJ system terminates at Jagdishpur (Uttar Pradesh).

5 - Chhattisgarh: False. The HVJ alignment does not traverse Chhattisgarh.

Justification: The Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline, commissioned in 1986 and operated by GAIL (India) Limited, extends about 1,750 km from Hazira through central India to Jagdishpur, supplying natural gas to industries in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh only; it does not pass through Maharashtra or Chhattisgarh.

B. 3-2-4-1 - Assam > Gujarat > Rajasthan > Andhra Pradesh.

The total estimated crude oil reserves in India are 651.77 million tonnes.

Regionally, the Western Offshore accounts for the largest share (about 32-33%), and the Assam region contributes the next largest share (about 22-23%).

Comparing the four listed states: the reserves attributed to the Assam region exceed those attributed to Gujarat. Rajasthan has significant onshore discoveries but a smaller share than Assam and Gujarat. Andhra Pradesh (Krishna-Godavari and related fields) contributes the smallest share among these four.

Hence the correct descending order by share of India's total oil reserve is Assam > Gujarat > Rajasthan > Andhra Pradesh, i.e., option B.

All three

Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur are the three operational Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites set up under Phase I by ISPRL (Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited).

Phase I comprises underground rock-cavern storage on the east and west coasts with a combined capacity of about 5.33 million tonnes, distributed among the three sites named above.

Further expansion under Phase II envisages additional capacity through a new facility at Chandikhol (Odisha) and augmentation at Padur, but the three Phase I locations remain the currently commissioned SPR sites.

Only two

The second and third pairs are correct: Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant is located in Madhya Pradesh (Singrauli) with an installed capacity of about 3,960 MW, and Rihand Thermal Power Station is located in Uttar Pradesh (Sonbhadra) with an installed capacity of about 3,000 MW.

The first pair is incorrect: Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station is located in Madhya Pradesh (Singrauli), not in Gujarat; its installed capacity is about 4,760 MW, making it one of India's largest thermal power complexes.

Therefore, exactly two of the given pairings are correctly matched.