New Delhi, Feb 3
India’s mineral production has continued strong growth during the first nine months (April-December) of FY 2024-25, following record production levels in FY 2023-24, according to the Ministry of Mines.
Provisional data shows that iron ore production, which accounts for 69% of total mineral production by value, increased by 2.5% from 203 million metric tonnes (MMT) in FY 2023-24 to 208 MMT in FY 2024-25.
The production of manganese ore rose by 8.3% to 2.6 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-December), compared to 2.4 MMT in the same period last year. Similarly, chromite production increased by 9.5% to 2.3 MMT, and bauxite production grew by 6.5% to 18.1 MMT, both showing positive year-on-year growth.
In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production grew by 1.6% to 31.56 lakh tonnes (LT) in FY 2024-25, compared to 31.07 LT in the previous year. Refined copper production rose by 7.3% from 3.69 LT to 3.96 LT.
India is the second-largest aluminium producer and the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world. It also ranks among the top 10 producers of refined copper.
The strong growth in iron ore production reflects robust demand in the steel industry, which uses iron ore as a raw material. The growth in aluminium and copper production points to continued strong economic activity in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive, and machinery.
