Robust Growth in Production of Key Minerals and non-ferrous Metals in the First Half of FY 2024-25

Production of some key minerals in the country has continued to witness strong growth during FY 2024-25, after reaching record production levels in FY 2023-24. Iron ore account for about 70% of the total MCDR mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 274 million metric tonne (MMT) in FY 2023-24.

As per provisional data, production of iron ore has increased from 128 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-September) to 135 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-September), showing a healthy 5.5% growth. Production of manganese ore has risen by 6.2% to 1.7 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-September) from 1.6 MMT during the corresponding period of previous year.

In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-September) posted a growth of 1.2% over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 20.90 lakh ton (LT) in FY 2024-25 (April-September) from 20.66 LT in FY 2023-24 (April-September). During the same comparative period, refined copper production has grown by 4.6% from 2.39 LT to 2.50 LT.

India is the 2^nd largest aluminium producer, among top-10 producer in refined copper and 4^th largest iron ore producer in the world. Continued growth in production of iron ore in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industry viz. steel. Coupled with growth in aluminium and copper, these growth trends point towards continued strong economic activity in user sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive and machinery.