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After reaching record production levels in the Financial Year 2023-24, India witness robust growth in the production of key minerals such as iron ore and limestone in the first quarter of FY 2024-25. Iron ore production has increased from 72 MMT in Q1 FY23-24 to 79 million metric ton (MMT) in Q1 FY24-25, registering a growth of 9.7 per cent.
Limestone Production has also increased by 2 MMT in Q1 FY24-25, taking the production to 116 MMT in Q1 FY24-25 from 114 MMT during the same period, a year ago, showing 1.8 per cent growth. Iron ore and limestone account for over 80 per cent of the total MCDR mineral production by value. Manganese ore production has also witnessed a growth of 11 per cent as it went up to 1 MMT in Q1 FY 2024-25 from 0.9 MMT over the same period in financial year 2023-24.
Iron ore production was 275 MMT and limestone at 450 MMT in FY 2023-24.
As far as the non-ferrous metal sector is concerned, primary aluminium production in the first quarter of FY 2024-25 registered a growth of 1.2 per cent, compared to the same period a year ago, as per the provisional data. The production rose to 10.43 lakh tonnes in Q1 FY 2024-25 from 10.28 LT in Q1 FY 2023-24.
The continued growth in iron ore and limestone production reflects the robust demand conditions in user industries such as steel and cement. Taking the growth in aluminium production into account as well, the trends point towards strong economic activity in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, machinery and automotive. India is the 2nd largest aluminium producer, 3rd largest lime producer and 4th largest iron ore producer in the world.
