Strong mineral growth in 2024-25

Production of some key minerals in the country has continued to witness strong growth during the first 11 months of 2024-25, after reaching record production levels in 2023-24.

As per provisional data, production of iron ore increased from 252 million metric tonne (MMT) in 2023-24 (April-February) to 263 MMT in 2024-25 (April-February), showing a healthy 4.4 per cent growth, an official press release said.

Production of manganese ore rose by 12.8 per cent to 3.4 MMT in 2024-25 (April-February) from 3 MMT during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Bauxite production went up by 3.6 per cent to 22.7 MMT in 2024-25 (April-February) from 21.9 MMT in 2023-24 (April-February). Production of lead concentrate increased by 3.5 per cent to 352 THT in 2024-25 (April-February) from 340 THT in 2023-24 (April-February).

In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in 2024-25 (April-February) posted a growth of 0.9 per cent over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 38.36 lakh ton (LT) in 2024-25 (April-February) from 38 LT in 2023-24 (April-February). During the same comparative period, refined copper production grew by 7.1per cent from 4.64 LT to 4.97 LT.

India is the 2nd largest aluminium producer, among top-10 producers in refined copper, and 4th largest iron ore producer. Continued growth in iron ore production in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industry viz. steel. Coupled with 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 release said.