The index of mineral production for the mining and quarrying sector in January 2024 stood at 144.1, marking a notable 5.9% rise from January 2023 levels. According to provisional statistics from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the cumulative growth from April to January in the 2023-24 period surged by 8.3% over the corresponding period of the previous year.
In January 2024, the production levels of essential minerals were as follows:
- Coal: 998 lakh tonnes
- Lignite: 41 lakh tonnes
- Natural gas (utilized): 3073 million cubic meters
- Petroleum (crude): 25 lakh tonnes
- Bauxite: 2426 thousand tonnes
- Chromite: 251 thousand tonnes
- Copper concentrate: 12.6 thousand tonnes
- Gold: 134 kilograms
- Iron ore: 252 lakh tonnes
- Lead concentrate: 34 thousand tonnes
- Manganese ore: 304 thousand tonnes
- Zinc concentrate: 152 thousand tonnes
- Limestone: 394 lakh tonnes
- Phosphorite: 109 thousand tonnes
- Magnesite: 13 thousand tonnes
Several important minerals exhibited positive growth in January 2024 compared to January 2023:
- Magnesite: 90.1%
- Copper concentrate: 34.2%
- Coal: 10.3%
- Limestone: 10%
- Bauxite: 9.8%
- Manganese ore: 7.8%
- Natural gas (utilized): 5.5%
- Lead concentrate: 5.2%
- Iron ore: 4.3%
- Lignite: 3.6%
- Zinc concentrate: 1.3%
- Petroleum (crude): 0.7%
However, some important minerals experienced negative growth, including:
- Gold: -23.4%
- Chromite: -35.2%
- Phosphorite: -44.4%
The robust growth in mineral production signifies positive momentum in the mining and quarrying sector, contributing to the nation’s industrial and economic development.
