"The results of Indian companies show strong performance and continued growth, and have bucked the global trend of decrease in margins due to cost increases.
Still, Indian mining industry faces challenges of skills shortages, new project development, and increased lead times in procurement," said a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The report said, record commodity prices and continued growth in emerging economies have helped the top mining firms avoid the slow downs that have been hitting other sectors.
It added that the state-run companies have found it a challenge to invest from the surplus generated from their operations.
National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC) and Neyveli Lignite Corp are among the top 40 mining companies in the world who have fared well in keeping costs within control.
The report, Mine As good as it gets?, said the results of NMDC indicated larger net profit margins in comparison to other major mining companies, which in part is attributed to lower depreciation charges with ageing assets.
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However, it added that the Indian mining majors showed continued state of low-exploration expenses, which implied less focus on growth, even as they carried large cash balances on their balance sheets.