Which strategic mineral resource, found in abundance along the coastal beach sands of Chavara in Kollam and Manavalakurichi in Tamil Nadu, is of immense national importance for India's atomic energy program?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The coastal placer deposits of Kerala contain heavy minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, sillimanite, garnet, and monazite, which is a source of thorium used in nuclear energy development. Bauxite is an ore of aluminium found in plateau bauxite crusts. Mica and feldspar occur in pegmatite veins of crystalline shields. Hematite and magnetite are primary iron ores mined extensively in peninsular shield regions outside Kerala. The mining and separation of these beach sands are managed by public sector undertakings.