New Delhi, Mar 20 (IANS): The index of mineral production of the country’s mining and quarrying sector rose by 5.9 per cent in January this year compared to the level in Jan 2023, according to figures released by the Indian Bureau of Mines on Wednesday.

The cumulative growth for the period April-Jan 2023-24 over the corresponding period of the previous year works out to 8.3 per cent.

The production level of important minerals in January 2024 were: Coal 998 lakh tonne, Lignite 41 lakh tonne, Natural gas (utilised) 3073 million cu. m., Petroleum (crude) 25 lakh tonne, Bauxite 2426 thousand tonne, Chromite 251 thousand tonne, Copper conc. 12.6 thousand tonnes, Gold 134 kg, Iron ore 252 lakh tonne, Lead conc. 34 thousand tonnes, Manganese ore 304 thousand tonnes, Zinc conc. 152 thousand tonne, Limestone 394 lakh tonne, Phosphorite 109 thousand tonne, and Magnesite 13 thousand tonne.

Important minerals showing positive growth during January 2024 over January 2023 include Magnesite (90.1per cent), Copper Conc (34.2 per cent), Coal (10.3 per cent), Limestone(10 per cent), Bauxite (9.8 per cent), Manganese Ore (7.8 per cent), Natural gas (U) (5.5 per cent), Lead Conc (5.2 per cent), Iron Ore (4.3 per cent), Lignite (3.6 per cent), Zinc Conc (1.3 per cent), and Petroleum (crude) (0.7 per cent).

Other important minerals showing negative growth include Gold (-23.4 per cent), Chromite (-35.2 per cent) and Phosphorite (-44.4 per cent).