संसार का लगभग तीन-चौथाई कोबाल्ट, जो विद्युत् मोटर वाहनों की बैटरी के निर्माण के लिए आवश्यक धातु है, किस देश द्वारा उत्पादित किया जाता है?
Read this question in English
About three-fourths of world's cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by
(a) Argentina · (b) Botswana · (c) the Democratic Republic of the Congo · (d) Kazakhstan
उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English
Answer: (c) कांगो लोकतांत्रिक गणराज्य (डेमोक्रैटिक रिपब्लिक ऑफ द कांगो)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo dominates cobalt mining, supplying roughly 70 per cent or more of the world's mined cobalt, most of it from its copper-cobalt belt in the south-east. Much of this is refined in China and used in rechargeable batteries.
- ✓ (c) The US Geological Survey reported that Congo (Kinshasa) remained the world's leading source of mined cobalt in 2022, with about 70% of world mine production.
- ✗ (a) Argentina is known for lithium brines, another battery mineral, not cobalt.
- ✗ (d) Kazakhstan is the world's largest uranium producer; it is not a major cobalt source.
Remember · Cobalt: DR Congo mines about 70–75% of world output, mostly as a by-product of copper; China leads in refining and battery use.
Sources
- US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023: Cobalt ↗ “Congo (Kinshasa) continued to be the world’s leading source of mined cobalt, accounting for about 70% of world cobalt mine production.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·
