The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of March (new Series 2011-12=100) 2017 at 127.2, was 9.7% higher as compared to the level in the month of March 2016. The cumulative growth for the period April- March 2016-17 over the corresponding period of previous year has been (+) 5.3 percent.
The total value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) in the country during March 2017 was Rs. 26350 crore. The contribution of Coal was the highest at Rs. 11658 crore (44%). Next in the order of importance were: Petroleum (crude) Rs. 5616 crore, Iron ore Rs. 2960 crore, Natural gas (utilized) Rs. 2214 crore, Lignite Rs. 996 crore and Limestone Rs. 639 crore. These six minerals together contributed about 91% of the total value of mineral production in March 2017.
Production level of important minerals in March 2017 were: Coal 770 lakh tonnes, Lignite 55 lakh tonnes, Natural gas (utilized) 2677 million cu. m., Petroleum (crude) 31 lakh tonnes, Bauxite 1875 thousand tonnes, Chromite 793 thousand tonnes, Copper conc. 13 thousand tonnes, Gold 127 kg., Iron ore 196 lakh tonnes, Lead conc. 31 thousand tonnes, Manganese ore 298 thousand tonnes, Zinc conc. 181 thousand tonnes, Apatite & Phosphorite 108 thousand tonnes, Limestone 304 lakh tonnes, Magnesite 17 thousand tonnes and Diamond 5026 carat.
The production of important minerals showing positive growth during March 2017 over March 2016 include: ‘Chromite’ (85.4%), ‘Zinc conc.’ (41.4%), ‘Diamond’ (25.5%), ‘Apatite & Phosphorite’ (17.0%), ‘Manganese ore’ (12.3%), ‘Iron ore’ (11.7%), ‘Lead conc.’ (11.5%), ‘Coal’ (10.9%), ‘Natural gas (utilized)’ (9.9%), ‘Limestone’ (4.2%) and ‘Petroleum (crude)’ (0.9%). The production of other important minerals showing negative growth are: ‘Magnesite’ [(-) 34.7%], ‘Gold’ [(-) 13.6%], ‘Copper conc.’ [(-) 6.5%], ‘Lignite’ [(-) 4.2%] and ‘Bauxite’ [(-) 4.0%].