Production of key minerals in the country, such as iron ore and limestone, has continued to show robust growth in Q1 of FY 2024-25, after reaching record production levels in FY 2023-24. Iron ore and limestone account for about 80% of the total MCDR mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 275 million metric ton (MMT) and limestone at 450 MMT in FY 2023-24.

As per provisional data, in the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-June) posted a growth of 1.2% over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 10.43 lakh ton (LT) in FY 2024-25 (April-June) from 10.28 LT in FY 2023-24 (April-June).

India is the 2^nd largest Aluminium producer, 3^rd largest lime producer and 4^th largest iron ore producer in the world. Continued growth in production of iron ore and limestone in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industries viz. steel and cement. Coupled with growth in Aluminium, these growth trends point towards continued strong economic activity in user sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive and machinery.

The production of iron ore has increased from 72 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-June) to 79 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-June), showing 9.7% growth. Limestone production rose from 114 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-June) to 116 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-June), with 1.8% growth. Production of manganese ore has jumped by 11% to 1.0 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-June) from 0.9 MMT over the corresponding period of previous year.

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Sunil Kumar Tiwari