India’s iron ore output declined to 20.9mn mt in December, down by 12pc from a year ago, according to the provincial data released by National Statistical Office. The expires of many mining licenses in early 2020 continued to stall domestic ore production despite strong demand from steelmakers.
The country’s mining output contracted by 4.8pc in December, while for the cumulative period April to December, output fell by 11.3pc due to COVID-19-related restrictions.
Manufacturing of basic metals declined by 4.2pc in December, while it down by 11.6pc in April to December period. Copper concentrate production in December fell by 37.6pc to 7,000mt, while production of zinc and lead concentrate rose by 8.6pc to 34,000mt and 3.4pc to 131,000mt, respectively, from the prior year.
Among other important minerals, coal production increased by 2.1pc to 71.1mn mt in December, while bauxite output declined by 7pc to 1.96mn mt from a year ago.