The government said on Friday that the production of key minerals in the country continued to witness strong growth during the first half of the current fiscal, FY25, with iron ore leading the pack. The FY25 growth follows record production levels in the last fiscal, FY24, according to the Ministry of Mines data.
"Iron ore accounts for about 70 per cent of the total Mineral Conservation and Development Rules (MCDR) mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 274 million metric tonnes (MMTs) in FY 2023-24," the data showed.
As per provisional data, iron ore production has grown from 128 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-September period) to 135 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-September), reflecting a healthy 5.5 per cent growth.
Production of manganese ore increased by 6.2 percent at 1.7 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-September) from 1.6 MMT during the corresponding period of the previous year.
The government data said the sector of non-ferrous metal showed primary aluminum, in FY 2024-25 (April-September), has been marked with growth of 1.2 per cent than the corresponding period of the last year, thereby shooting up to 20.90 lakh tonnes (LT) for FY 2024-25 (April-September) from 20.66 LT for FY 2023-24.
Compared with the same time period, refined copper output has gone up 4.6 percent - from 2.39 LT to 2.50 LT.
India is the world's second-largest aluminium producer, a top 10 producer of refined copper, and the world's fourth-largest iron ore producer. It is also the world's third largest lime producer.
"The continued growth in production of iron ore in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industry viz steel," the ministry said.
The growth trends coupled with aluminum and copper point to continued strong economic activity in user sectors like energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive, and machinery added the statement.
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