The mining and quarrying sector recorded positive growth of 4.38 percent during year 2011-12 against the negative growth of -1.28 percent last year. Talking to APP on Monday an official of ministry of petroleum and natural resources told that the contribution of this sector in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has expanded remarkably and now it accounts for 9.45 percent of the industrial value addition. He said the output of chromite, bauxite, gypsum, chalk and fluoride increased by 591.54 percent, 82.15 percent, 24.43 percent, 82.18 percent and 111.28 percent respectively. This growth was also made possible due to increase in natural gas production. 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.
