The Index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector in May 2013 was higher by 1.6% compared to that of the preceding month. The mineral sector has shown a negative growth of 5.7% during May 2013 as compared to that of the corresponding month of previous year.
The total value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) in the country during May 2013 was Rs. 18074 crore. The contribution of petroleum (crude) was the highest at Rs. 5790 crore (32%). Next in the order of importance were: coal Rs. 5570 crore, iron ore Rs. 2923 crore, natural gas (utilized) Rs. 1879 crore, lignite Rs. 514 crore and limestone Rs. 389 crore. These six minerals together contributed about 94% of the total value of mineral production in May 2013.
Production level of important minerals in May 2013 were: coal 432 lakh tonnes, lignite 45 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilized) 2935 million cu. m., petroleum (crude) 32 lakh tonnes, bauxite 2023 thousand tonnes, chromite 288 thousand tonnes, copper conc. 12 thousand tonnes, gold 128 kg., iron ore 131 lakh tonnes, lead conc. 17 thousand tonnes, manganese ore 237 thousand tonnes, zinc conc. 143 thousand tonnes, apatite & phosphorite 47 thousand tonnes, dolomite 525 thousand tonnes, limestone 242 lakh tonnes, magnesite 17 thousand tonnes and diamond 3735 carat.
In May 2013 the output of chromite increased by 31.5%, diamond 27.6%, zinc conc. 15.8%, apatite & phosphorite 11.2%, gold 8.5%, copper conc. 7.3%, iron ore 6.8%, manganese ore 5.3%, petroleum (crude) and dolomite 2.1% each, lignite 1.6%, bauxite 1.4%, lead conc. 1.3% and coal 0.3% percent. However the production of natural gas (utilized) decreased by 0.2%, limestone 0.4% and magnesite 7.0 percent.