Mining and quarrying: Sector records growth of 4.38% in fiscal 2012

ISLAMABAD:

The mining and quarrying sector recorded positive growth of 4.38% during the year 2011-12 against the negative growth of 1.28% last year.

Talking to APP on Monday, an official of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said that the output of chromite, bauxite, gypsum, chalk and fluoride increased by 591.54%, 82.15%, 24.43%, 82.18% and 111.28% respectively.

This growth was made possible due to increase in the production of natural gas. To a question, he said extraction of minerals through efficient mining and quarrying provides convenient and economical access to raw materials and a competitive edge to the country.

He said that the contribution of this sector in the gross domestic product (GDP) has expanded remarkably and accounts for 9.45% of the industrial value addition.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2012.