The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has discovered lithium inferred resources of about 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi District in Jammu and Kashmir on February 9, 2023. These resources have been established as part of the ‘Reasi Sersandu-Kherikot-Rahotkot-Darabi’ mineral block, where prospecting has been ongoing since 2021–22. The stage of prospecting was initially categorised as ‘G4’ under the United Nations Framework for Classification of Reserves and Resources of Solid Fuels and Mineral Commodities (UNFC 1997). The finds are learnt to include bauxite, the ore for aluminium, and other rare earth elements. These lithium reserves are called ‘inferred resources’ (resources for which quantity and grade could be estimated based on geological evidence, but whose geological and grade continuity could not be verified at this stage).
It would take five to seven years to use these lithium deposits, commercially.
Lithium
Lithium (Li) is a non-ferrous metal, and is one of the key components in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and electric vehicles (EVs). It is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys, and clocks. It is a grey, shiny, non-ferrous metal which is the lightest and least dense of all metals. It is the third element in the periodic table after gases hydrogen and helium. Lithium is an alkali metal which is highly reactive. It is also called as ‘white gold’ and many countries have intensified efforts to find its reserves.
Stages of Geological Exploration of Lithium
The GSI originally traced and recorded the presence of lithium deposits in Reasi district back in 1999. The GSI has now categorised these lithium reserves as G3 stage which is further categorised into a six-step process to extract Lithium from salt-flat brines or mineral ores. According to UNFC, there are four stages of exploration for any mineral deposit: basic reconnaissance or fairly advanced stage of prospecting (G4), then comes preliminary exploration (G3), leading to general exploration (G2), which is followed by detailed exploration (G1).
Importance of Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silvery-white metal which reacts vigorously with water. After the stages of assessment, if the lithium reserves found are substantial, they would help India reduce its import dependence. India has been importing lithium for its stationary battery system and EV battery industries as it is an essential component in the rechargeable batteries that run EVs, and in storage batteries for energy from renewable sources.
Countries are moving towards clean energy technologies in order to meet their Paris Agreement climate pledges. The transition to EVs is crucial as vehicular pollution accounts for a major proportion of carbon emissions. Besides, India has also set a limit of 30 per cent sales penetration of EVs in private cars and 80 per cent in two- and three-wheelers, by 2030. During the COP26 (Conference of Parties) in Glasgow, in 2021, India has vowed to cut its carbon emissions towards net zero by 2070.
The Government of India has already approved India’s updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) which will be communicated to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Therefore the availability of lithium would be crucial for such targets in future. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), global supplies of lithium are under strain because of rising demand for EV. As per International Energy Agency (IEA), the world is prone to facing lithium shortages by 2025. By 2030, batteries are expected to account for 95 per cent of lithium demand which is evident from the record high prices of lithium, US$ 75,000 per tonne, in 2022.
Significance of Lithium for India
Indian government has launched incentives for battery manufacturing in India for which raw materials like lithium have so far been imported. India imported Rs 173 crore worth of lithium metal and Rs 8,811 crore worth of lithium batteries in 2020–21. Between April and November alone, Rs 164 crore worth of lithium and Rs 7,986 crore worth of batteries were imported in 2022. If the currently discovered lithium resources are confirmed, India would significantly cut down on the import of lithium.
As per NITI Aayog, India’s battery storage market is expected to reach more than 1000 GWh by 2030, translating into a cumulative market size of 25,000 crore.
Potential Lithium Reserves in India
Since 2018, the GSI has carried out 14 projects on lithium and associated elements. Of these, five projects on lithium and associated minerals were taken up in 2021–22. India has some potential to recover lithium from brines of Sambhar and Pachpadra areas in Rajasthan; and Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. Other potential geological domains of the country include the major mica belts located in Rajasthan, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh, and the pegmatite belts in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, alongside rock mining being undertaken at Mandya, Karnataka.
The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), an arm of the Department of Atomic Energy, had earlier conducted preliminary surveys which also showed the presence of inferred category lithium resources of 1,600 tonnes in the igneous rocks of the Marlagalla–Allapatna region of Karnataka’s Mandya district.
Issues and Challenges
Since India has initiated a battery production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to set up battery cell manufacturing, it is vital to develop mineral processing and raw material processing capability to become self-reliant. The latest discovery can be termed an important development in this direction.
World’s four biggest mining firms (Albemarle, SQM, Tianqi, and FMC) have been currently controlling one-third of the global lithium market. Apart from its own domestic mines, China has established many lithium mines in other countries to ensure an uninterrupted supply of lithium. This monopoly over the availability of lithium has been a challenge to India’s quest for self-dependence with regard to green energy.
The impacts of lithium mining on the environment and ecology are immense as the mining causes water, soil, and air pollution. The process of extracting lithium is also extremely water-intensive—approximately 2.2 million litres of water is required to produce one tonne of lithium. The demand for lithium has been increasing which is expected to increase by 488 per cent globally by 2050. However, not enough research has been conducted so far to address the sustainability challenges due to lithium mining and processing.
The world is watching India as it holds the presidency of G20 nations. G20 is an intergovernmental forum for international economic cooperation. It would be important to see if there are any globally beneficial proposals regarding equitable access to the benefits, derived from these critical minerals.
Lithium Reserves across the World
Lithium is not in short supply. The process of its extraction has been time-and infrastructure-intensive. Currently, Lithium is being extracted from hard rock mines or as brine from salt flats and lakes from where it is recovered, using evaporation tanks.
The US Geological Survey states that the identified lithium resources worldwide stood at 89 million tonnes in the beginning of 2022. However, the reserves or minable parts of these resources stood at 22 million tonnes. Half of the world’s lithium resources are concentrated in Latin America (mostly Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina), Australia, and China. In 2021, almost 90 per cent of lithium mining happened in Chile, China, and Australia, with Australia being the leading producer.
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