New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS): The index of mineral production of the mining and quarrying sector for August stood at 111.9, showing a growth of 12.3 per cent over the corresponding period of last year.

According to data released by the Indian Bureau of Mines, the cumulative growth for the April-August 2023-24 period over the corresponding period last year, was 8.3 per cent.

Production levels of important minerals in August were: Coal 684 lakh tonne, Lignite 28 lakh tonne, Natural gas (utilised) 3110 million cubic metres, Petroleum (crude) 25 lakh tonne, Bauxite 1,428 thousand tonne, Chromite 148 thousand tonne, Copper concentrate 10 thousand tonne , Gold 113 kg, and Iron ore 181 lakh tonne among others.

Important minerals which showed positive growth in August this year over August 2022 included Gold (46.8 per cent), Phosphorite (40.7 per cent), Manganese Ore (36.9 per cent), Copper Concentrate (18.9 per cent), Coal (17.8 per cent), Iron Ore (14.9 per cent), Limestone (13.8 per cent), Petroleum (crude) (2.1 per cent) and Chromite (1.4 per cent).