Mineral production up by 3.45 pct in May 2008

New Delhi, Aug 27 (UNI) The country's mineral production from the mining and quarrying sector rose by 3.45 per cent in May 2008 compared to April 2008.

The mineral sector also recorded a growth of 5.58 per cent during the first two months of the current financial year over that of the previous year. The mineral production in May 2008 was also higher by 5.16 per cent over the corresponding month of the previous year.

During May, the total value of mineral production (excluding atomic and minor minerals) in the country stood at Rs 8,324 crore, led by coal at Rs 2,981 crore (36 per cent).

Next in the order of importance were: iron ore Rs 1,775 crore, petroleum (crude) Rs 1,620 crore, natural gas (utilised) Rs 8,64 crore, lignite Rs 257 crore and limestone Rs 206 crore. These six minerals together contributed about 93 per cent of the total value of mineral production in May 2008.

Production level of important minerals during the month were: coal 368 lakh tonnes, lignite 32 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilised) 2803 million cu m, petroleum (crude) 29 lakh tonnes, bauxite 2174000 tonnes, chromite 471000 tonnes, copper conc 8000 tonnes, gold 249 kg, iron ore 197 lakh tonnes, lead conc. 11000 tonnes, manganese ore 231000 tonnes, zinc conc. 82000 tonnes, apatite and phosphorite 134000 tonnes, dolomite 344000 tonnes, limestone 172 lakh tonnes and magnesite 21000 tonnes. The production of diamond was nil in the current month.

In May, the output of chromite increased 31.11 per cent, gold 29.69 per cent, magnesite 16.57 per cent, manganese ore 7.83 per cent, coal 3.75 per cent, lignite 3.42 per cent, natural gas (utilised) 3.20 per cent, petroleum (crude) 3.19 per cent and apatite and phosphorite 1.15 per cent. The production of lead and zinc concentrates remained at the level of previous month whereas it was marginally lower in case of limestone. However, bauxite production dropped 1.13 per cent, iron ore 1.80 per cent, dolomite two per cent and copper conc. 13.25 per cent.

UNI SD MP AS1713