About three-fourths of world's cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by

Answer: C. About three-fourths of the world's cobalt is produced by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC produces approximately 70-75% of global cobalt supply, mostly from the Katanga (Lualaba and Haut-Katanga) copperbelt where cobalt occurs as a by-product of copper mining. The DRC's massive cobalt reserves underpin global EV battery supply chains since cobalt is critical for lithium-ion cathodes (NMC, NCA chemistries). Major Chinese mining companies (CMOC, China Molybdenum) and Western firms (Glencore) operate large DRC cobalt operations. Artisanal small-scale mining remains controversial due to child labour and unsafe conditions. Distractors: (A) Argentina is a major LITHIUM producer, not cobalt. (B) Botswana is known for diamonds, not cobalt. (D) Kazakhstan produces uranium and oil, not significant cobalt. Source: US Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries / International Energy Agency Critical Minerals report.