India’s mining and quarrying sector continued its upward trajectory in FY 2025-26, with notable gains in mineral and non-ferrous metal production. The index of mineral production for March 2025 stood at 156.8, marking a 0.4% increase over March 2024. Key minerals such as iron ore, manganese ore, and zinc concentrate registered significant year-on-year growth.
Iron ore production rose by 5.7% to 25.9 million metric tonnes (MMT) in March 2025. Manganese ore output increased by 9.7% to 0.39 MMT, while zinc concentrate production climbed 5.5% to 0.19 MMT compared to the same month last year.
This strong momentum follows a record-setting FY 2024-25, during which India produced 289 MMT of iron ore—accounting for 70% of the total MCDR mineral production by value.
Provisional estimates for April 2025, the first month of FY 2025-26, indicate continued growth across key minerals:
Bauxite: Up 13.9%, from 1.87 MMT in April 2024 to 2.13 MMT
Limestone: Up 1.2%, from 39.58 MMT to 40.5 MMT
Lead & Zinc Ore: Up 2.4%, from 1.24 MMT to 1.27 MMT
Zinc Concentrate: Up 7.7%, from 0.13 MMT to 0.14 MMT
In the non-ferrous metals segment, primary aluminium production in April 2025 grew by 1.5% year-on-year, rising from 3.42 lakh tonnes (LT) to 3.47 LT. Refined copper production posted a more substantial increase of 15.6%, reaching 0.52 LT, up from 0.45 LT in April 2024.
India remains the world’s second-largest aluminium producer and ranks among the top 10 producers of refined copper. The sustained growth in both aluminium and copper production underscores robust demand from critical sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive, and machinery—highlighting continued economic resilience and industrial expansion.
