Consider the following statements:
- India does not have any deposits of Thorium.
- Kerala’s monazite sands contain Uranium.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect
- India has the world’s largest Thorium resource of around 1 million tonnes, followed by Brazil, Australia, the USA, and Egypt.
- Thorium deposits are found in:
- Eastern coast: Tamil Nadu (Manavalakurichi – richest deposit), Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.
- Western coast: Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Kerala.
- Minor inland deposits: Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.
- India has limited reserves of uranium but its thorium reserves are very large.
Statement 2 is correct
Monazite sands comprise the largest source of uranium (over 15,200 tonnes of uranium is estimated to be contained in monazite). Monazite sands occur on the east and west coasts, with the largest concentration on the Kerala coast, and in some areas in Bihar
