Ilmenite and rutile, abundantly available in certain coastal tracts of India, are rich sources of which one of the following?

1. A

   Aluminium

   Aluminium. That is bauxite (gibbsite, boehmite), not beach ilmenite.

2. B

   Copper

   Copper. Chalcopyrite and similar sulphides.

3. C

   Iron

   Iron. Haematite and magnetite; ilmenite is an iron-titanium oxide, but the industrial prize is titanium.

4. D

   Titanium

   Titanium. Ilmenite (FeTiO3) and rutile (TiO2) are the beach-sand titanium ores.

Summary. Official key is (d) titanium. Kerala–Tamil Nadu–Odisha beach sands hold ilmenite and rutile, the main ores of titanium (pigment, metal, welding). Iron is present in ilmenite’s formula but is not why these sands are worked.