Answer: (d)1, 2 and 3
Explanation:
Coal is a one of the important minerals which is mainly used in the generation of thermal power and smelting of iron ore. Coal occurs in rock sequences mainly of two geological ages, namely Gondwana and tertiary deposits.
About 80 per cent of the coal deposits in India is of bituminous type and is of noncoking grade. The most important Gondwana coal fields of India are located in Damodar Valley.
Chhattisgarh is the largest coal producing State with a share of about 21.6% followed by Odisha with contribution of 19.6% to the national output.

Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
Bauxite is the ore, which is used in manufacturing of aluminium. Bauxite is found mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated with laterite rocks occurring extensively either on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India and also in the coastal tracts of the country.
Odisha happens to be the largest producer of Bauxite. Kalahandi and Sambalpur are the leading producers. By States, Odisha alone accounts for 51% of country’s resources of bauxite followed by Andhra Pradesh (16%), Gujarat (9%), Jharkhand (6%), Maharashtra (5%) and Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh (4% each).

Answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation:
There are several ores that contain aluminium. But it is from bauxite, a clay-like substance that alumina and later aluminium is obtained. Bauxite deposits are formed by the decomposition of a wide variety of rocks rich in aluminium silicates. It is not a specific mineral but a rock that consists mainly of hydrated aluminium oxides. It is mostly associated with laterite soil whose deposits occur as blankets or cuppings on hills and are always mostly at the top of plateaus. So, Statement 1 is not correct.
Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting Aluminium from its oxide, alumina and is an electrolytic process, so an aluminium smelter uses huge amounts of electric power.
Copper smelting is the process through which the copper ore is purified through intense heating and melting to derive high-quality Copper or copper products.
Aluminium production is more energy intensive and depends on electricity which requires around 14 MWh per tonne of metal, which is about seven times more than copper smelting. Copper is not the most energy-intensive metal to produce. So, Statement 2 is correct.

Answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation:
The United States (US) and major partner countries have announced the formation of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), an ambitious new initiative to strengthen crucial mineral supply chains.
Critical minerals are elements that serve as the building blocks of critical modern-day technology and are vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.
These minerals are currently employed in various applications ranging from mobile phones and computers to batteries, electric cars, and green technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines. So, Statement 1 is not correct.
Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) partners including Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Commission – are committed to building robust, responsible critical mineral supply chains to support economic prosperity and climate objectives.
India is currently not a member of this Minerals Security Partnership. So, Statement 2 is correct.

Answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation:
Sedimentary basins are areas in which sediment accumulates at a significantly greater rate than sediments of the same age in neighbouring areas, accumulating a greater thickness. The sediments accumulate by subsidence.
India’s sedimentary area is estimated to be 3.36 million square kilometres. It consists of 26 sedimentary basins, 1.63 million sq km of which are on land.
Shallow offshore up to 400m isobaths, with an area of 0.41 million sq km.
The deep ocean beyond the 400m isobaths has a sedimentary area of 1.32 million sq km, according to the newly classified sedimentary basins.
A sedimentary basin can be made just by erecting high land in an adjacent area by volcanism. So, Statement 1 is not correct.
Based on conventional resource potential, 7 basins are opened for hydrocarbon production are grouped under Category-I, covering 30% of the total basin area and holding 85% of the total unrisked conventional hydrocarbon in place of 41.8 billion tons of oil and oil-equivalent gas. These 7 basins are namely Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay.
Recently, State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) opened India’s eighth hydrocarbonproducing basin when it started oil flow from a well in the Bengal basin. Oil production commenced from the well Asokenagar-1 in 24 Pargana district. The Bengal basin is spread across nearly 1.22 lakh square kilometres, nearly two-thirds of it falling under the waters of the Bay of Bengal. So, Statement 2 is correct.
The Mumbai High Field, formerly known as the Bombay High Field, is an offshore oilfield located 176 kilometres off the west coast of Mumbai in the Gulf of Cambay region of India. It is India’s largest oil and natural gas production at around 75 metres of water. The oil operations are managed by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Cauvery Basin is the largest hydrocarbon-producing basin in terms of area.