Ilmenite and rutile, abundantly available in certain coastal tracts of India, are rich sources of which one of the following?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Titanium
Ilmenite and rutile are the main ores of titanium. They occur in the heavy-mineral beach sands of coasts such as those of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and titanium dioxide made from them is the white pigment used in paints and toothpaste.
- ✓ (d) Titanium oxide is obtained from the minerals rutile, ilmenite and anatase; ilmenite is found in beach sands along the Kerala and Tamil Nadu coast.
- ✗ (c) Ilmenite does contain iron (it is an iron-titanium oxide), but it is mined for titanium; India's iron comes from haematite and magnetite ores.
- ✗ (a) Aluminium is obtained from bauxite, not from ilmenite or rutile.
Remember · Beach-sand minerals: ilmenite and rutile give titanium; monazite gives thorium. Bauxite gives aluminium; haematite and magnetite give iron.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Contemporary India – II, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 India: People and Economy, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 10 · Contemporary India – II, Chapter 5 “Most toothpaste are made white with titanium oxide, which comes from minerals called rutile, ilmenite and anatase.”
- NCERT Class 12 · India: People and Economy, Chapter 5 “Thorium is mainly obtained from monazite and ilmenite in the beach sands along the coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.”
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). ·