India’s iron ore production rose 9.7% to 79 tonnes in April-June

New Delhi: The country’s iron ore production rose 9.7 per cent to 79 million tonnes (MT) in the first quarter of the current fiscal, the government said on Thursday. India’s iron ore production stood at 72 MT in the corresponding period a year earlier, according to provisional data.

Limestone production rose 1.8% to 116 metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2024-2025 from 114 metric tonnes in the April-June period of 2023-2024, the mining ministry said in a statement.

Manganese ore production increased by 11 per cent to 1.0 metric tonnes in the April-June period of FY25 from 0.9 metric tonnes in the same period of the previous year.

“The country’s production of key mineral resources such as iron ore and limestone continued to show solid growth in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024-2025, after achieving record production levels in fiscal year 2023-2024,” the release said.

In the non-ferrous metals sector, primary aluminium production rose by 1.2 per cent to 10.43 lakh tonnes (LT) from 10.28 LT during the same period in the previous year.

India is the world’s second-largest producer of aluminium, third-largest producer of lime and fourth-largest producer of iron ore. The continued growth in iron ore and limestone production in the current fiscal year reflects solid demand conditions in user industries such as steel and cement. Coupled with growth in aluminium, these growth trends indicate continued strong economic activity in user sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive and machinery, the statement said.