5.9 MT of lithium found in J&K

The deposits were found in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district in the Union territory. This is quite critical for India as it aims to reduce its imports of minerals critical for solar panels and batteries.

New Delhi, Feb 10: Lithium has huge industrial use as without it the functioning of mobile phones to solar panels to electrical vehicles is difficult to imagine. India has been short of lithium; however, a lot of this shortage could now be fulfilled as huge caches of lithium reserves have been found in Jammu & Kashmir.

According to the reports, India has found the country's first lithium deposits that could meet some of its industrial requirements. The deposits are anywhere close to 5.9 million tonnes (MT) and found in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district in J&K. This is quite critical for India as it aims to reduce its imports of minerals critical for solar panels and batteries. This will also help the Union territory grow economic activities and GDP.

As has been reported, the government was well aware of the presence of bauxite in the composite in the area; in the process it was found that it also has huge reserves of lithium. This is a vital discovery given the fact that India is import-dependent for many minerals that include lithium.

The next action after the latest findings is to go for auction for extensive excavation and refining of lithium that could be used for industrial purposes. The government sources reveal that the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has now approved the findings and soon the mines would be going for a transparent auction.

India's dependency on imports

India heavily imports critical minerals including lithium. Last week, the country identified two lithium mines and one copper mine in Argentina. Latin America is rich with these minerals. Once these mines are identified, the next step is to acquire them to meet the domestic requirement for lithium, especially as mobile manufacturing has caught a lot.

Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) and KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd) in collaboration with GSI have been working tirelessly to find mines in Latin America and Africa. However, since China is already working overtime in these regions, India is facing a stiff challenge.

Therefore, for India, it is a lot more feasible to survey in the country. Doing surveys in India to find out the rare minerals has paid dividends. Now this could help India reduce its dependency on imports. The latest finding in J&K has given them much required hope in this regard.