India's iron ore production rises 9.7% to 79 MT in April-June

The country's iron ore production grew by 9.7 per cent to 79 million tonnes (MT) in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal, the government said on Thursday. India's iron ore output was 72 MT in the year-ago period, as per the provisional data.

Limestone production grew by 1.8 per cent to 116 MT in the first quarter of 2024-25 from 114 MT in the April-June period of 2023-24, the mines ministry said in a statement.

Production of manganese ore has rose by 11 per cent to 1.0 MT in April-June period of FY25 from 0.9 MT over the corresponding period of previous year.

"Production of key minerals in the country, such as iron ore and limestone, has continued to show robust growth in Q1 of FY 2024-25, after reaching record production levels in FY 2023-24," it said.

In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production grew by 1.2 per cent to 10.43 lakh tonnes (LT) from 10.28 LT in the year-ago period.

India is the second largest aluminium producer, third largest lime producer and fourth 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, the statement said.