Question

The mineral found in the Monazite sands of Kerala is ………………….
A)Oil
B)Uranium
C)Thorium
D)Coal

Answer 1

Hint: In nature, there occur some solid compounds with a certain chemical structure in their pure form. These are commonly described as minerals. Among many others, Monazite is considered as a group mineral containing rare earth elements.

Complete answer:
A phosphate based reddish brown colored group of crystals is what we know as Monazite. The term monazite is of Greek origin. They occur in the form of alluvial sands because of its higher density. The process of weathering helps in the release. The deposits of sands containing these are mainly the monazite- cerium composites i.e., monazite-(Ce).
 The states of Kerala, Jharkhand and Bihar produce the highest proportions of monazites in India. Also, India stands at the third position for the largest production of monazite in the entire world.
In the granites as well as gneisses of the Western Ghats of Indian peninsula, the monazite sands are believed to have originated. Eventually, along the coastlines of the state of Kerala these sands are transported by the streams. (Around forty seven in number.

(A) Oil is extracted primarily from petroleum. So, option (A) is incorrect.

(B) In nature, uranium occurs as a mixture of two isotopes. So, these are not found in the monazite sands of Kerala. So, option (B) is wrong.

(C) Thorium is a rare earth metal. It is found in the monazite sands of Kerala (in the form of thorium oxide).

(D) Over million years, the dead and decayed plant and animal remains get converted in the form of coal. So, option (D) is incorrect.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C)

Note: The weathering and subsequent decay of monazites primarily gives us Thorium, Lanthanum, Cerium, etc. Different separation processes are conducted for the large scale extraction of Thorium from these sands.