The contribution of coal is the highest at Rs 1,247 crore (42 per cent) followed by petroleum (crude) at Rs 937 crore, natural gas (utilised) at Rs 250 crore, iron ore at Rs 160 crore, limestone at Rs 101 crore and lignite at Rs 97 crore.

Production levels of important minerals in quantity during April were:- coal 210 lakh tonnes, petroleum (crude) 27 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilised) 13,160 lakh cubic metre, iron ore 62 lakh tonnes, lignite 2,454 thousand tonnes, bauxite 565 thousand tonnes, copper ore 297 thousand tonnes, chromite 128 kilogram, lead (conc) 5,375 tonnes, zinc (conc) 29,409 tonnes, limestone 107 lakh tonnes, apatite and phosphorite 98 thousand tonnes, dolomite 215 thousand tonnes and magnesite 27 thousand tonnes.

Compared to the previous month, the production of important minerals hasdeclined considerably. The output of gold decreased by 51 per cent and that of coal by 6 per cent. The production of minerals like bauxite (24 per cent), copper ore (22 per cent), manganese ore (20 per cent), iron ore (14 per cent), apatite and phosphorite (6 per cent), magnetite (5 per cent), petroleum (crude), natural gas (utilised) and dolomite (4 per cent each) and lead (3 per cent), also fell.

The production of liginte and limestone remained stagnant at the previous month's level while output of chromite and zinc increased by 15 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

The index number of mineral production (Base 1993-94 = 100) in April 1999 works out to 113 compared to 135 in March 1999, disclosing a fall of 16 per cent in the production of minerals as a whole compared to March 99.