New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS): India saw a strong growth in production of some key minerals in the April-August period this fiscal, and iron ore accounted for about 70 per cent of the total mineral production by value, the government said on Saturday.

Robust growth was seen in the production of key minerals and non-ferrous metals, after reaching record production levels in FY24.

As per the Ministry of Mines, production of iron ore was 274 million metric tonnes (MMT) in FY24.

In the first five months this fiscal, production of iron ore reached 116 MMT, showing a healthy 7.4 per cent growth from 108 MMT in the same period in FY24 (as per provisional data).

Production of manganese ore jumped by 15.4 per cent to 1.5 MMT in FY25 (April-August) from 1.3 MMT during the corresponding period of previous year.

According to the ministry, in the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production posted a growth of 1.3 per cent over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 17.49 lakh tonnes (LT) from 17.26 LT in FY24 (April-August).

During the same comparative period, refined copper production has grown by 5.8 per cent from 1.91 LT to 2.02 LT.

India is the second largest aluminium producer, among top 10 producer in refined copper and fourth largest iron ore producer in the world.

According to the ministry, continued growth in production of iron ore in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industry -- steel.

The country saw robust growth in production of key minerals, such as iron ore and limestone, in the first quarter of FY25.

“Coupled with growth in aluminium and copper, these growth trends point towards continued strong economic activity in user sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive and machinery,” the ministry noted.