New Delhi: The production of some key minerals in the country has continued to witness strong growth during the 10-month period from April to January of FY 2024-25, after reaching record production levels in FY 2023-24, according to an official statement issued on Thursday. The production of iron ore, which accounts for 70 per cent of the total mineral production in India by value and had touched 274 million metric tonnes (MMT) in FY 2023-24, has shown a further increase during the current financial year.
As per provisional data, production of iron ore has increased from 228 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-January) to 236 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-January), showing a healthy 3.5 per cent growth, the statement said. The production of manganese ore has shot up by 11.1 per cent to 3.0 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-January) from 2.7 MMT during the corresponding period of the previous year while the production of chromite has risen by 8.7 per cent to 2.5 MMT from 2.3 MMT during this period.
Additionally, the production of bauxite has also risen by 5.6 per cent to 20.6 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April- January) from 19.5 MMT in the same period of the previous year. In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-January) posted a growth of 1.2 per cent over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 35.10 lakh tons (LT) in FY 2024-25 (April-January) from 34.67 LT in the same period of FY 2023-24. During the same comparative period, refined copper production has grown by 7.4 per cent from 4.19 LT to 4.50 LT.
India is the 2nd largest aluminium producer, among the top-10 producers in refined copper and the 4th largest iron ore producer in the world. “The continued growth in production of iron ore in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the steel industry which uses it as a raw material. Coupled with the growth in aluminium and copper, these growth trends point towards continued strong economic activity in user sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive and machinery,” the statement added.