India produces minerals worth Rs 1.13 lakh cr in FY18

The country has produced minerals worth Rs 1.13 lakh crore in FY18, registering an increase of 13 per cent over the previous fiscal.

India produced minerals worth Rs 1 lakh crore (provisional) in 2016-17, according to the Annual Report 2017-18 of Ministry of Mines.

"The total value of mineral production (excluding atomic and fuel minerals) during 2017-18 has been estimated at Rs 1,13,541 crore, which shows an increase of about 13 per cent over that of the previous year," the report said.

The estimated value for metallic minerals is Rs 53,029 crore and that of non-metallic minerals, including minor minerals, is Rs 60,512 crore, it said.

In 2016-17 the value of metallic minerals like iron ore, manganese ore, zinc, bauxite, copper, gold, chromite and lead conc was Rs 40,017.29 crore, it added.

The value of non-metallic minerals like diamond, garnet (abrasive), limeshell, limestone, magnesite, phosphorite, sillimanite and wollastonite stood at Rs 7,414.53 crore, the annual report said.

The value of minor minerals stood at Rs 52,810.07 crore during 2016-17.

The mining sector in the country is characterised by a large number of small operational mines.

The number of mines, which reported mineral output, excluding atomic, fuel and minor minerals, in the country was 1,531 in 2017-18 compared to 1,508 in 2016-17.

Out of 1,531 reporting mines, 230 are located in Tamil Nadu, followed by 197 in Madhya Pradesh, 191 in Gujarat, 142 in Karnataka, 132 in Odisha, 129 in Andhra Pradesh, 112 in Chhattisgarh, 87 in Goa, 85 in Rajasthan, 75 in Maharashtra and 58 in Jharkhand.

These ten states together accounted for 94 per cent of total number of mines in the country in the last fiscal.