Provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals Muhammad Sibtain Khan has said that annual production of iron ore in Punjab has reached 60,000 ton and it would further increase next year.
Presiding over a high-level meeting of the department at Civil Secretariat here on Wednesday, the minister said the exploration of iron ore in Punjab had been expedited and more than 30 licences had been issued, besides granting 14 leases to the concerned people during last year.
He said the production of iron ore had been increased during the last fiscal year and services of the private sector were being utilised in this regard, which had very positive result in this sector. The minister on this occasion directed the concerned authorities to start survey of iron ore rich areas to find more deposits.