India’s Mineral Production Grows in FY 2025–26 | Iron Ore, Bauxite, Copper Surge

India's mineral production sector continues its upward trajectory in FY 2025–26, following record-breaking output in FY 2024–25. This growth is evident across several key minerals that are vital to core sectors such as steel, infrastructure, energy, and construction.

A significant contributor to this trend is iron ore, which alone accounts for 70% of the total MCDR (Mineral Conservation and Development Rules) mineral production by value. In FY 2024–25, iron ore production stood at a robust 289 million metric tonnes (MMT). As per provisional data, production has further increased from 52.7 MMT during April–May 2024 to 53.0 MMT during April–May 2025, showing a modest growth of 0.6%. This steady rise reflects strong demand from user industries, particularly steel, where iron ore is a primary raw material.

Similarly, other important minerals are showing a positive production trend. Manganese ore, crucial for steel alloying, registered a 1.4% increase, rising from 0.69 MMT in April–May 2024 to 0.70 MMT in the same period of 2025. Bauxite, the primary ore for aluminium production, saw a 0.9% growth, reaching 4.73 MMT in April–May 2025, up from 4.69 MMT a year earlier.

Zinc concentrate, used extensively in galvanizing and die-casting, also recorded a 3.7% growth, increasing from 0.27 MMT to 0.28 MMT during the same two-month period. Limestone, a key input in cement and construction industries, saw a 1.6% increase, rising from 80.10 MMT in April–May 2024 to 81.40 MMT in April–May 2025.

Looking at the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for mining and quarrying in April 2025, several minerals have shown remarkable year-on-year growth. Zinc concentrate production increased by 5.8% to 0.14 MMT, while limestone production rose by 1.2% to 40.1 MMT. Notably, bauxite production in April alone surged by 13.6%, reaching 2.13 MMT over April 2024 levels.

In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production also showed healthy growth. It rose by 1.3%, from 6.98 lakh tonnes (LT) in April–May 2024 to 7.07 LT in the same period in 2025. Even more impressive is the performance in refined copper production, which jumped by 43.5%, increasing from 0.69 LT to 0.99 LT during April–May.

India continues to hold a strong global position in mineral production — it is the 2nd largest aluminium producer, among the top 10 producers of refined copper, and the 3rd largest iron ore producer in the world. The consistent increase in production of these strategic minerals indicates robust demand conditions in downstream user industries such as infrastructure, energy, automotive, construction, and machinery.

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