Indian state-run MOIL Limited (formerly Manganese Ore India Limited) achieved an output of 1.3 million mt of manganese fines and lumps during the fiscal year 2018-19 (ended March 31), the highest in the last ten years, according to company officials.
The higher production enabled the company to log its highest-ever sales turnover of $208 million during the fiscal year in question, the officials said.
The higher production of manganese fines and lumps was aided by MOIL sinking a second shaft at its Chikla mine and deepening shafts at its Balaghat and Kandri mines, all of which were completed during the past fiscal year, the officials added.
To sustain the growth in production, the miner is seeking additional prospecting and mining leases in states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, in close proximity to its existing mines, the officials said.
MOIL controls about 34 percent of total Indian proven manganese ore reserves and accounts for over 50 percent of the country’s manganese production.