Growth in Mining sector in May 2024 After Record Production Levels in FY 2023-24

Iron ore and Limestone together account for about 80% of the total MCDR mineral production by value. These key minerals exhibited record production levels in FY 2023-24, with production of iron ore at 275 million metric ton (MMT) and limestone at 450 MMT in FY 2023-24.

Continuing the trend, the production of these key minerals in the country has exhibited robust growth in FY 2024-25 (April-May) as per provisional figures. Production of iron ore has increased from 50 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-May) to 52 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-May), with 4% growth. Production of limestone has increased from 77 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-May) to 79 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-May), with 2.6% growth. The production of manganese ore has jumped by 16.7% over corresponding period previous year with a production of 0.7 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-May).

In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-May) posted a growth of 1.2% over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 6.98 lakh ton (LT) in FY 2024-25 (April-May) from 6.90 LT in FY 2023-24 (April-May).

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.