In a major development that will help India’s transition to green energy, a large reserve of Lithium dubbed “White Gold” owing to its high global demand has been found in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
From electric vehicles to mobiles and laptops, lithium batteries (Li-Ion) power most of these essential electronic gadgets and are highly sought as countries across the world push for green energy options in face of mounting pressure to tackle environmental concerns.
For the first time, a large deposit of lithium-bearing rocks was discovered during an annual field survey carried out by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in Reasi — around 70 km from Jammu city.
In its annual technical report presented to the government of Jammu and Kashmir, it is revealed that 5.9 million tonnes of inferred resources (G3) of Lithium are present in Salal-Haimana area of the district.
Several government officials, including from the mining department, told The New Indian that the GSI’s initial study has revealed the presence of lithium resources and now a detailed study would be carried out. “The detailed study will determine the exact quality and the grade of lithium reserve,” an official said.
“In the initial study, only the presence and the quantity of the resource have been established. Now G2 and G3 level exploration will be carried out to determine the exact quality and quantum of the lithium resource,” he said.
In the 62nd Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting held yesterday in New Delhi, Secretary of Ministry of Mines Shri. Vivek Bhardwaj handed over a total of 16 geological reports (G2&G3) stage and 35 Geological memorandums to different state and UT governments of India. The geological report regarding the discovery of lithium was handed over to the government of Jammu and Kashmir.
This discovery of lithium comes at a crucial stage when India is looking to expand its green footprint and is also looking to boost local manufacturing of zero-emissions solutions to support its 2070 target for carbon neutrality. The installation of huge volumes of battery storage capacity is considered key to enabling renewable use round-the-clock to achieve India’s target to have 500GW of installed clean power capacity by 2030. Moreover, Li-ion is the battery of the first choice for energy storage for a range of rechargeable consumer products.
As of now, China dominates the Lithium industry around the globe as Chinese companies own half of the global lithium production and 70% Li-ion battery manufacturing. China is also eyeing the large reserves of lithium present in Afghanistan to keep up with its manufacturing demand. With India entering the market once the reserves are mined the balance of global manufacturing is set to change.
At this juncture, the discovery of a such large quantity of lithium in India becomes a game changer for the country. It not only makes India more self-reliant in its goal to transition towards green energy but also propels the economic growth of the country by becoming a leading manufacturer of Li-Ion batteries which global companies desperately seek.