Metals & Mining

India has large reserves of Iron ore, Bauxite, Chromium, Manganese ore, Baryte, Rare earth and Mineral salts.

The Metals and Mining sector in India is expected to witness a major reform in the next few years, owing to reforms such as Make in India Campaign, Smart Cities, Rural Electrification, and a focus on building renewable energy projects under the National Electricity Policy as well as the rise in infrastructure development.

The 3rd round of auction have 88 coal blocks offered and the 4th round of auction held in December 2021 offered 99 coal mines, of which 59 are fully explored with 40 partially explored.

*The production level of important minerals in March 2021 were: Coal 960 lakh tonnes, Lignite 52 lakh tonnes, Bauxite 2,103 thousand tonnes, Chromite 601 thousand tonnes, Copper conc 11 thousand tonnes, Iron ore 227 lakh tonnes, Lead conc 41 thousand tonnes, Manganese ore 331 thousand tonnes, Zinc conc 164 thousand tonnes, Limestone 391 lakh tonnes, Phosphorite 124 thousand tonnes, Magnesite 12 thousand tonnes, Gold 148 kg, and Diamond 34 carat.

*The production of important minerals showing positive growth during March 2021 over March 2020 included Manganese Ore (80.1%), Lead conc. (74.9%), Phosphorite (57.0%), Copper conc. (50.2%), Chromite (45.8%), Limestone (45.6%), Magnesite (44.9%), Zinc conc. (43.2%), Bauxite (33.4%),  Lignite (25.3%), Iron ore (13.7%), and Coal (0.2%)

19 coals blocks were auctioned in 2020 for commercial mining. The total expected revenue from these mines is around INR 7,000 cr with a combined peak capacity of 51 MPTA.

India’s coal production increased by 6.13 % to 79.60 Mn Ton from 75 MT during Jan 2022 as compared to the same month 2020.

Recognising the importance of bringing sustainability in coal mining, a “Sustainable Development Cell” has been created in Ministry of Coal and in all coal PSUs to promote adoption of better environment management practices in coal mines.

* provisional