Value of mineral production up 11 pc in Nov at Rs 19,066-cr

Notwithstanding a decline in production of major minerals like iron ore and bauxite, value of India's mineral production in November 2014 increased by 11 per cent to Rs 19,066 crore on the back of higher coal output.
Total value of mineral production, excluding atomic and minor minerals, in the country during November, 2013 was Rs 17,163 crore.
According to an official statement, contribution of coal was the highest in November, 2014 at Rs 7,099 crore, followed by petroleum (crude) at Rs 5,713 crore, iron ore at Rs 2,363 crore and natural gas at Rs 2,263 crore.
Lignite contributed Rs 379 crore to the kitty. The value of limestone production was Rs 410 crore.

"These six minerals together contributed about 95 per cent of the total value of mineral production in November, 2014," the statement said.
Coal production grew by 15.6 per cent at 546 lakh tonnes (LT) during the reporting month, lignite by 16.4 per cent to 34 LT, petroleum crude 31 LT and gold by 53.4 per cent to 132 kg among others.
On the other hand, production of iron ore fell by 30.9 per cent to 86 LT and bauxite slipped by 21 per cent to 12 LT among the major minerals.
During the previous November, coal had also contributed the highest to the total mineral production value at Rs 5,798 crore. It was followed by crude petroleum at Rs 5,728 crore, iron ore at Rs 2,276 crore and natural gas at Rs 1,797 crore, among others.