OREANDA-NEWS. April 16, 2015. The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of February (new Series 2004-05=100) 2015 at 130.7, was 2.5% higher as compared to February 2014. The cumulative growth for the period April- February 2014-15 over the corresponding period of previous year stands at (+) 1.5%.

The total value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) in the country during February 2015 was Rs. 19785 crore. The contribution of: coal was the highest at Rs. 7865 crore (40%). Next in the order of importance were: petroleum (crude) Rs. 5226 crore, iron ore Rs. 2686 crore, natural gas (utilized) Rs. 2030 crore, lignite Rs. 561 crore and limestone Rs. 427 crore. These six minerals together contributed about 95% of the total value of mineral production in February 2015.

Production level of important minerals in February 2015 were: coal 583 lakh tonnes, lignite 47 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilized) 2455 million cu. m., petroleum (crude) 29 lakh tonnes, bauxite 1651 thousand tonnes, chromite 241 thousand tonnes, copper conc. 9 thousand tonnes, gold 135 kg., iron ore 122 lakh tonnes, lead conc. 19 thousand tonnes, manganese ore 171 thousand tonnes, zinc conc. 138 thousand tonnes, apatite & phosphorite 100 thousand tonnes, dolomite 494 thousand tonnes, limestone 234 lakh tonnes, magnesite 23 thousand tonnes and diamond 2946 carat.

The production of important minerals showing positive growth during February 2015 over February 2014 include ‘magnesite’ (55.9%), ‘zinc conc.’ (47.0%), ‘lead conc.’ (21.1%), ‘lignite’ (18.8%) and ‘coal’ (11.6%). The production of other important minerals showing negative growth are: ‘limestone.’ [(-) 1.5%], ‘petroleum (crude)’ [(-)1.9%], ‘bauxite’ [(-) 4.2%], ‘diamond’ [(-) 7.9%], ‘natural gas (utilized)’ [(-) 8.2%], ‘apatite & phosphorite’ [(-) 11.7%], ‘iron ore’ [(-) 13.4%], ‘gold’ [(-) 14.6%], ‘copper conc.’ [(-) 21.1%], ‘chromite’ [(-) 24.9%], ‘manganese ore’ [(-) 27.1%] and ‘dolomite’[(-) 28.2%].