New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS): The government on Friday said that the production of key minerals in the country has continued to witness strong growth during the first half of the current fiscal (FY25), with iron ore leading the pack.

The FY25 growth follows record production levels in the last fiscal (FY24), according to the Ministry of Mines data.

“Iron ore accounts for about 70 per cent of the total Mineral Conservation and Development Rules (MCDR) mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 274 million metric tonnes (MMTs) in FY 2023-24,” the data showed.

As per provisional data, production of iron ore has increased from 128 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-September period) to 135 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-September), showing a healthy 5.5 per cent growth.

Production of manganese ore has risen by 6.2 per cent to 1.7 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-September) from 1.6 MMT during the corresponding period of the previous year.

According to the government data, in the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-September) posted a growth of 1.2 per cent over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 20.90 lakh tonnes (LT) in FY 2024-25 (April-September) from 20.66 LT in FY 2023-24.

During the same comparative period, refined copper production has grown by 4.6 per cent from 2.39 LT to 2.50 LT.

India is the second largest aluminium producer, among the top 10 producers in refined copper and the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world. The country is also the third-largest lime producer in the world.

“Continued growth in production of iron ore in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industry viz steel,” said the ministry.

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, it added.