Production of iron ore, manganese ore, primary aluminium rises in H1FY25

The production of iron ore, manganese ore and primary aluminium increased in the first six months of the ongoing financial year, government data showed.

As per provisional data, production of iron ore rose 5.5 per cent to 135 million tonne (MT) in April-September FY25 over 128 MT in the year-ago period.

Output of manganese ore increased by 6.2 per cent to 1.7 MT in April-September from 1.6 MT during the corresponding period of previous fiscal year, the mines ministry said in a statement.

In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in April-September rose by 1.2 per cent to 20.90 lakh tonne (LT) from 20.66 LT in the year-ago period.

"During the same comparative period, refined copper production has grown by 4.6 per cent from 2.39 LT to 2.50 LT," the ministry said.

Iron ore accounts for about 70 per cent of the total mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 274 million tonne in 2023-24.

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 trends point towards continued strong economic activity in user sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive and machinery.

India is the second largest aluminium producer, among top ten producers of refined copper and fourth largest iron ore producer in the world.