India eyes more lithium deposits in J&K, identifies 30 critical minerals

India eyes more lithium deposits in J&K, identifies 30 critical minerals

Subject : Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context: India is hopeful of finding more lithium reserves in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and continues exploration in the region.

Details:

• According to officials, exploration for additional lithium sources is already going on in the Salal Hamima region of the Resai district of Jammu. 
• India’s first and only lithium reserves to the tune of 9 million tonnes have already been discovered in J&K. The Ministry is in the process of working out the ASP or the reserve price of these reserves.
• Lithium, an alkali metal, is one of the key components in rechargeable batteries that are used in mobiles, laptops, electric vehicles and in medical devices like pacemakers. It is also used in energy storage solutions.
• Import dependence
• India currently imports all major components that go into lithium-ion cell manufacturing.
• The country’s lithium-ion import bill for FY23 was ₹23,171 crore. It covers electric accumulators, including separators. In FY22, imports for lithium-ion was at ₹13,673.15 crore.
• Geographical Society of India (GSI) is already carrying out 151-odd exploration projects in the country to find more lithium and cobalt, along with other critical minerals
• The Ministry released the first ever report on identification of critical minerals for India.
• Around 30 minerals have been identified. It includes titanium, tungsten, vanadium, zircon, niobium, germanium, nickel, graphite, silicon, antimony, beryllium, bismuth, among others. 
• The identification of these minerals takes India in the league of large economies and developed nations like the USA, Japan, China, among others, which have also released a similar list of critical minerals.

International investments 

• Argentina is one of the countries with which sourcing discussions are on. An MoU has also been signed on the possibility of exploration of lithium there.
• Other countries like Chile and Australia are also on the radar, he said. Argentina is ranked among the main mineral reserves worldwide.
• Together with Chile and Bolivia, the north-west of the country forms the so-called “Lithium Triangle” and is currently the fourth largest producer and has the third largest world reserve of lithium.
• Australia is the top lithium producer globally. Apart from the Lithium Triangle nations, key producers include the USA and China.
• KABIL is exploring commercial agreements with foreign governments and countries for sourcing lithium and critical minerals.
• Ministry of Mines has created a Joint Venture company namely KhanijBidesh India Ltd (KABIL) with participating interest of NALCO, HCL and MECL. KABIL is mandated to identify and acquire overseas mineral assets of critical and strategic nature such as Lithium, Cobalt etc