India Experiences Significant Growth in Iron Ore and Non-Ferrous Metal Production
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New Delhi, Nov 28 (NationPress) The output of essential minerals in India has demonstrated strong growth during the first seven months of FY 2024-25 (April-October), building on record production figures from FY 2023-24, according to data published by the Ministry of Mines on Thursday.
Iron ore constitutes 69 percent of the nation's overall mineral production by value. For the complete financial year 2023-24, iron ore production reached 274 million metric tonnes (MMT).
Provisional statistics indicate that iron ore output has risen from 152.1 MMT in the first seven months of FY 2023-24 (April-October) to 158.4 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-October), marking a healthy increase of 4.1 percent.
Furthermore, the production of manganese ore has grown by 11.1 percent, reaching 2.0 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-October), up from 1.8 MMT during the same period last year. Similarly, bauxite production has increased by 11.3 percent, climbing to 13.8 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-October) from 12.4 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-October).
In the realm of non-ferrous metals, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-October) has posted a 1.2 percent growth compared to the previous year, rising to 24.46 lakh tonnes (LT) from 24.17 LT in FY 2023-24 (April-October). During the same period, refined copper production surged by 6 percent, increasing from 2.83 LT to 3.00 LT.
India ranks as the second largest aluminium producer, is among the top ten producers of refined copper, and stands as the fourth largest iron ore producer globally.
The ongoing growth in iron ore production this financial year reflects the strong demand in the steel industry, which relies on iron ore as a key input. The increases in aluminium and copper production also signify robust economic activity in sectors like energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive, and machinery.
Indeed, India is the only large economy witnessing substantial growth in steel consumption, with an impressive 13.5 percent increase in the first half of 2024-25, according to the latest data compiled by the Ministry of Steel.
