Read the following passage and answer the question :
The iron and steel industry forms the base of all other industries and, therefore, it is called a basic industry. It is basic because it provides raw material for other industries such as machine tools used for further production. It may also be called a heavy industry because it uses large quantities of bulky raw materials and its products are also heavy. Iron is extracted from iron ore by smelting in a blast furnace with carbon (coke) and limestone. The molten iron is cooled and moulded to form pig iron which is used for converting into steel by adding strengthening materials like manganese. The large integrated steel industry is traditionally located close to the sources of raw materials – iron ore, coal, manganese and limestone – or at places where these could be easily brought, e.g. near ports. But in mini steel mills access to markets is more important than inputs. These are less expensive to build and operate and can be located near markets because of the abundance of scrap metal, which is the main input. Traditionally, most of the steel was produced at large integrated plants, but mini mills are limited to just one-step process – steel making – and are gaining ground. Distribution: The industry is one of the most complex and capital-intensive industries and is concentrated in the advanced countries of North America, Europe and Asia. In USA, most of the production comes from the north Appalachian region (Pittsburgh), Great Lake region (Chicago-Gary, Erie, Cleveland, Lorain, Buffalo and Duluth) and the Atlantic Coast (Sparrows Point and Morisville). The industry has also moved towards the southern state of Alabama. Pittsburg area is now losing ground. It has now become the “rust bowl” of U.S.A. In Europe, U.K., Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Russia are the leading producers. The important steel centres are Scun Thorpe, Port Talbot, Birmingham and Sheffield in the U.K.; Duisburg, Dortmund, Dusseldorf and Essen in Germany; Le Creusot and St. Ettienne in France; and Moscow, St. Petersburgh, Lipetsk, Tula, in Russia and Krivoi Rog, and Donetsk in Ukraine. In Asia, the important centres include Nagasaki and Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan; Shanghai, Tienstin and Wuhan in China; and Jamshedpur, Kulti-Burnpur, Durgapur, Rourkela, Bhilai, Bokaro, Salem, Visakhapatnam and Bhadravati in India.
In which type of steel plants is access to markets more important than other factors of location?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Mini steel mills
The passage states: “But in mini steel mills access to markets is more important than inputs.”
Option (1) Mini steel mills — Correct. Their main input is scrap metal, which is found in abundance near markets. So they can be located near markets.
Option (2) Macro steel mills — Incorrect. There is no such type of steel plant.
Option (3) Integrated steel plants — Incorrect. The large integrated steel industry is located close to the sources of raw materials or at places where these can be easily brought, such as ports.
Option (4) Large Iron and steel plants — Incorrect. The large plants are the integrated plants. They are located near raw materials, not near markets.