Vedanta Ltd.'s mined metal output from its Indian zinc operations grew 6% year on year to 232,000 tonnes in the second quarter of fiscal 2019, according to an Oct. 12 release.

The improvement was driven by a 44% yearly surge in underground production.

Integrated metal production, however, fell 8% year on year to 212,000 tonnes. Integrated zinc production dipped 16% year on year to 162,000 tonnes due to a temporary mismatch in zinc mined metal availability despite a production ramp-up toward the latter half of the quarter.

Integrated lead production, meanwhile, jumped 30% year on year to 49,000 tonnes as a result of the retrofitting of the pyro metallurgical smelter.

Integrated silver production reached a record 172 million tonnes, up 23% year on year, on the back of higher production and better silver grades at the Sindesar Khurd mine.

Output from its international zinc operations dropped 34% to 28,000 tonnes due to lower production at the Skorpion mine in Namibia and the BMM mine in South Africa.

Salable iron ore production increased 16% year on year to 1.4 million dry tonnes, thanks to higher output from the Karnataka operation. The company's Goa operation produced nothing for the quarter as it remains suspended. Pig iron production went up 26% to 173,000 dry tonnes. Iron ore sales slumped 51% year on year to 400,000 dry tonnes.

Total steel production stood at 285,000 tonnes, or 16% higher year over year, as a result of improved availability of raw material, the restart of a blast furnace in August, and improved plant availability and utilization.

Copper cathode production slipped 86% year on year to 15,000 tonnes, while total aluminum production rose 23% to 494,000 tonnes.