Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 10: India’s Mines Ministry on Thursday announced that 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves have been found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Geological Survey of India for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Ministry of Mines said on Thursday.
India has lately been looking to strengthen its supply of key minerals, including lithium that will be critical for furthering its electric vehicle plans.
It further said that 51 mineral blocks including Lithium and Gold were handed over to respective state governments. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles. It is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys and clocks.
“Out of these 51 mineral blocks, 5 blocks pertain to gold and other blocks pertain to commodities like potash, molybdenum, base metals etc. spread across 11 states of Jammu and Kashmir (UT), Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana,” the ministry said.
The blocks were prepared based on the work carried out by GSI from field seasons 2018-19 to till date.
The central government has unveiled incentives of at least $3.4 billion to expedite its lagging adoption of EVs as Prime Minister Narendra Modi vows to reach net zero by 2070. The idea is that manufacturing the costliest component batteries locally will make the end product more affordable for the mass market and set the country up as a potential exporter, tapping into surging global demand.
The initiatives have piqued the interest of billionaires like Mukesh Ambani, whose Reliance Industries Ltd. is building an EV battery facility as part of a broader $76 billion push into clean energy..
Currently, India is import-dependent for several other minerals like lithium, nickel and cobalt.
