Kalakhuta, Leelwani, Nardiya, Timmamori are producing regions of which mineral in Rajasthan ?
- (1)Manganese
- (2)Tungsten
- (3)Copper
- (4)Iron ore
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), Manganese.
Two of the stem's four localities appear in the manganese list of Rajasthan's Department of Mines and Geology (DMG), so the answer is Manganese. DMG places the state's manganese deposits mainly in Banswara district, in a belt about 22 km long from Guraria to Rathimuri.
DMG's list of main manganese deposits spells those two Kala-Khunta and Lilwani, and also names Sivania, Ghatia, Itala, Tambeshra and Kheria.
The Banswara District Gazetteer called the district a principal producer of manganese, with ore contents of about 45 to 60 per cent. It names localities such as Talwara, Khunta Kalan, Itala, Tambosara and Sagwan.
DMG estimates 5.78 million tonnes of manganese resources in the state, with small deposits also near Negadia (Rajsamand) and Choti-Sar and Badi-Sar (Udaipur).
Kala-Khunta and Lilwani point to Banswara's manganese belt.
Why the others are wrong
- (2)Tungsten — Rajasthan's tungsten lies in other districts. DMG names deposits near Degana in Nagaur district and near Balda and Uduwaria in Sirohi district.
It adds that Degana and Balda were the only operative mines and have been closed down as economically non-viable. None of these is in Banswara.
- (3)Copper — DMG lists copper deposits in Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Sirohi, Udaipur, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Dungarpur, and refers to the Khetri copper belt of Jhunjhunu.
Banswara, the district of Kala-Khunta and Lilwani, is not in that list of copper districts.
- (4)Iron ore — DMG's important iron-ore localities include Morija–Neemala in Jaipur, Dabla in Sikar and Taonda in Jhunjhunu.
Banswara does appear in DMG's list of iron-ore districts, so the district alone does not settle this. The named localities do: Kala-Khunta and Lilwani are in DMG's manganese list.
Concept
Manganese is used in steelmaking. The Banswara District Gazetteer also lists dry batteries, paints and varnishes, photographic developers and chemicals among its uses.
In Rajasthan the ore is concentrated in the south. DMG places the main deposits in Banswara district along a belt of about 22 km from Guraria to Rathimuri, and estimates 5.78 million tonnes of manganese resources in the state.
DMG's table records Banswara ores ranging from 27 to 35 percent manganese up to 46 to 52.2 percent.
RPSC's 2023 Prelims syllabus lists "Minerals- Metallic & Non-Metallic" under the Geography of Rajasthan. The location of each metallic mineral falls under that head.
Each metallic mineral in Rajasthan has its own districts. DMG places copper in a string of districts including Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Udaipur, tungsten at Degana in Nagaur and in Sirohi, and manganese in Banswara.
Mining localities can be small villages with variant spellings, so it helps to tie each one to its district. Kala-Khunta and Lilwani both lead to Banswara.
Key facts
- DMG places Rajasthan's main manganese deposits in Banswara district, along a belt of about 22 km from Guraria to Rathimuri.
- DMG's main manganese deposits in Banswara: Sivania, Kala-Khunta, Ghatia, Lilwani, Itala, Tambeshra and Kheria.
- DMG estimates 5.78 million tonnes of manganese resources in Rajasthan, with small deposits near Negadia (Rajsamand) and Choti-Sar and Badi-Sar (Udaipur).
- DMG's tungsten deposits are near Degana (Nagaur) and Balda and Uduwaria (Sirohi); the Degana and Balda mines have closed as economically non-viable.
- DMG's iron-ore localities include Morija–Neemala (Jaipur), Dabla (Sikar) and Taonda (Jhunjhunu).
From the Rajasthan Department of Mines and Geology's metallic minerals page.
Study next
Common traps
- Banswara is also in DMG's list of iron-ore districts. The district narrows the choice; the named localities settle it.
- Locality names vary in spelling. The stem's Kalakhuta and Leelwani appear in DMG's list as Kala-Khunta and Lilwani.
- Banswara also holds gold, in the Bhukia–Jagpura–Delwara belt. A district in southern Rajasthan can belong to more than one mineral map.
A question can list mining localities and ask for their mineral, as this one does.
A question can also name a mineral and ask for its district, ask which locality does not belong to a mineral, or ask for Rajasthan's share of a mineral's resources.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2016 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to Rajasthan's Department of Mines and Geology, the deposits near Degana, district Nagaur, are of which mineral ?
- (a)Tungsten
- (b)Manganese
- (c)Copper
- (d)Gold
Answer(1) — DMG names Degana, Nagaur, as a tungsten deposit. Option (2), manganese, is concentrated in Banswara. Option (3), copper, is associated with the Khetri belt of Jhunjhunu. Option (4), gold, is concentrated in the Bhukia–Jagpura–Delwara belt of Banswara. - practice — not a real PYQ
According to the Department of Mines and Geology, Rajasthan, which of the following is not a manganese deposit area ?
- (a)Kala-Khunta
- (b)Tambeshra
- (c)Itala
- (d)Dabla
Answer(4) — Dabla, which DMG lists under Sikar, is among DMG's iron-ore localities. Options (1) Kala-Khunta, (2) Tambeshra and (3) Itala are all among DMG's main manganese deposits in Banswara district.