Match List - I with List - II and select the correct answer using the codes given below : List - I (Mining Area): 1. Kalahandi 2. Zawar 3. Kolar 4. Mosabani; List - II (Mineral Wealth): i. Gold ii. Copper iii. Bauxite iv. Zinc and Lead
- (a)1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv
- (b)1-i, 2-iv, 3-iii, 4-ii
- (c)1-iii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-ii
- (d)1-iii, 2-ii, 3-iv, 4-i
Correct — C, i.e. 1-iii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-ii. Kalahandi in Odisha lies in the Eastern Ghats bauxite belt (iii); Zawar, near Udaipur in Rajasthan, is India's classic zinc-and-lead field, noted for a long history of ancient zinc smelting (iv); Kolar in Karnataka is the country's most famous gold field — the Kolar Gold Fields (i); and Mosaboni (the booklet prints 'Mosabani'), in the Singhbhum copper belt of Jharkhand, is a copper-mining centre (ii). Only option C pairs all four correctly.
- (a)1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv — Every pair is wrong — it makes Kalahandi a gold field, Zawar a copper mine, Kolar a bauxite area and Mosaboni a zinc-lead source.
- (b)1-i, 2-iv, 3-iii, 4-ii — It gets Zawar-zinc/lead and Mosaboni-copper right, but wrongly labels Kalahandi as gold and Kolar as bauxite.
- (d)1-iii, 2-ii, 3-iv, 4-i — Only Kalahandi-bauxite is correct; it swaps Zawar to copper, Kolar to zinc-lead and Mosaboni to gold.
India's mineral geography maps particular ores to particular localities. Gold is anchored to Kolar and Hutti in Karnataka; copper to the Singhbhum belt of Jharkhand (with Khetri in Rajasthan and Malanjkhand in MP); zinc and lead to Zawar and Rampura-Agucha in Rajasthan; and bauxite to the Eastern Ghats, especially Odisha's Kalahandi-Koraput belt. Match-the-following questions reward memorising these anchor pairs.
Fix two iconic anchors first — Kolar = gold and Zawar = zinc/lead — and the rest falls out: the remaining bauxite goes to Kalahandi (Odisha) and copper to Mosaboni (Jharkhand). That immediately points to option C.
- Kolar Gold Fields (Karnataka) — India's historic gold-mining centre.
- Zawar, near Udaipur (Rajasthan) — major zinc-and-lead field; site of ancient zinc distillation.
- Mosaboni, Singhbhum (Jharkhand) — part of India's copper belt.
- Kalahandi-Koraput (Odisha) — Eastern Ghats bauxite deposits.
The commission's key pairs 1-iii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-ii — option C. Kolar's gold is the most iconic anchor.
- Confusing Kolar (gold) with Kalahandi (bauxite) because of the similar initial
- Mixing up Zawar (zinc-lead) with Khetri (copper), both in Rajasthan
A match-the-following linking a mine/place to its principal mineral. MPPSC and UPSC (e.g. UPSC 2004) use this exact pattern repeatedly.
Match List I (Minerals) with List II (Location) and select the correct answer: List I (A) Coal (B) Copper (C) Manganese (D) Lignite; List II 1. Giridih 2. Jayankondam 3. Alwar 4. Dharwar
- (a) A-1 B-4 C-3 D-2
- (b) A-2 B-3 C-4 D-1
- (c) A-1 B-3 C-4 D-2
- (d) A-2 B-4 C-3 D-1
Answer(c) A-1 B-3 C-4 D-2
Same skill — matching a mineral to its Indian mining locality (coal-Giridih, copper-Alwar/Khetri belt, manganese-Dharwar, lignite-Jayankondam).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Kolar and Hutti, India's best-known gold-mining centres, are located in which state?
- (a)Karnataka
- (b)Andhra Pradesh
- (c)Jharkhand
- (d)Rajasthan
Answer(a) Karnataka — the Kolar Gold Fields and Hutti mines are both in Karnataka.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Zawar mines, famous for zinc and lead, are situated in which state?
- (a)Rajasthan
- (b)Odisha
- (c)Madhya Pradesh
- (d)Chhattisgarh
Answer(a) Rajasthan — Zawar, near Udaipur, is a leading zinc-and-lead field.