India's iron ore output rises 7.4% to 116 million tonnes in April-August

The production of iron ore and manganese ore witnessed a growth during the April-August period of the ongoing fiscal.

The output of iron ore rose by 7.4 per cent to 116 million tonnes (MT) during the said period compared to 108 MT registered in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, according to a provisional data released by the mines ministry.

The production of manganese ore jumped by 15.4 per cent to 1.5 MT during the April-August period as compared to 1.3 MT in the previous financial year, the ministry said in a statement.

Iron ore accounts for about 70 per cent of the total mineral production in terms of value.

In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production rose to 17.49 lakh tonnes (LT) during April-August from 17.26 LT in the year-ago period.

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

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

Continued growth in production of iron ore in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industries, mainly steel.

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 statement said.