Share of iron ore production in India FY 2022, by state

In the financial year 2022, the Indian state of Odisha was the leading producer of iron ore in the country, accounting for over half of the domestic iron ore production. With its vast iron ore reserves, the state authorities are set to open more blocks for iron ore mining in the region.

India's place among the world's leading iron ore producers

Australia, Brazil, and China were among the world’s largest iron ore mine producers in 2022, and India held the fourth position, with production amounting to an estimated 290 million metric tons that year. With the growth in the cement industry and infrastructure developments across the country, experts believe that India will have to double its current iron ore production volume to meet the country's rising demand. India's ranking among the world's leading iron ore reserve-holding countries as of 2022 was seventh place, with 3.4 billion metric tons of iron content from 5.5 billion metric tons of crude iron ore.

Iron ore exports from India

From 2020 to 2022, India's exports of iron ore dropped in value from 3.9 billion U.S. dollars to 1.57 billion U.S. dollars. This placed India as the world's 11th-largest iron ore exporting nation as of 2022 on the basis of value. That was a notable drop in the ranking however, as India placed sixth in 2020 and seventh in 2021.