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Present ore reserves of the country are enough to last for hundred years. This was disclosed in a recent meeting of National Mineral Development Corporation with Senior Officials of the Ministry of Steel. The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Shri Ram Vilas Paswan , Union Minister for Chemical, Fertilizers and Steel. The Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Corporation explained that considering the total reserves and the quantum of extraction at the current rate, the reserves would last for about hundred years and further exploration is also expected to add to the reserves. The Minister outlined the need to keep a balance between the conservation and extraction, so that we do not end up with a situation of importing iron ore in the future. National Mineral Development Corporation, during the period April-September, 2004, produced 8.61 million tonnes of iron ore against the target of 8.48 million tonnes. However, there was a marginal shortfall in the diamond production in this period, which would be made up in the coming months. In comparison with the performance in the corresponding period last year, the production of iron ore and diamond have increased by 11 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
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