Question

India has the largest reserves of ___________.
A) Iron ore
B) Coal
C) Copper
D) Gold

Answer 1

Hint: A Mineral Reserve is the portion of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource that can be commercially mined. Reserves are resources that are not being used right now but can be used for future needs of our country and will be utilized for future generations.

Complete answer:
Ore deposits form in the Earth's crust as a result of various geological processes and collect minerals or ores in sufficient amounts to be mined and economically profitable. In this case, the mineral resource is transformed into a mineral reserve or ore reserve.

Now let us look into the given options:
A) Iron ore: Iron ore deposits are relatively rich in India. India has Asia's largest iron ore reserves. Haematite and magnetite are the two main forms of iron ore found in our country. Hence this is the correct answer.
B) Coal : The United States owned the world's highest proven coal reserves. The United States has about 249.5 billion metric tonnes of coal reserves. Hence this is not the correct answer.
C) Copper : Chile, with 200 million metric tonnes of copper reserves as of 2020, has the world's largest copper reserves. Hence this is not the correct answer.
D) Gold : The United States has the world's largest gold reserves. Hence this is not the correct answer.
India has the largest reserves of Iron ore.

Therefore, the correct option is (A) Iron ore.

Note: An ore deposit is a mineral deposit that is sufficiently rich to be profitably worked, and the ore is the assemblage of ore minerals plus gangue in an ore deposit. The States which have indicated an increase in the value of mineral production are Chhattisgarh (41.94%), Himachal Pradesh (41.81%), Bihar(32.77%), Odisha (31.64%), Karnataka(26.20%), Uttar Pradesh (9.95%) and Tripura (8.36%) during the year under review.