The Indian government has announced a major discovery of lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir. Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj stated that this is the first time that lithium has been found in the country.
The reserves were located in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir during exploration by the Geological Survey of India (GSI). India is currently dependent on imports for many minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.
In an effort to secure critical minerals for emerging technologies and become self-reliant, the Mines Ministry has taken measures to obtain lithium and other minerals from Australia and Argentina.
During a speech at the 62nd Central Geological Programming board meeting, Bharadwaj emphasized the importance of finding and processing critical minerals, including lithium, to meet the demands of technology, such as mobile phones and solar panels. He also pointed out that reducing gold imports would help make India self-sufficient.
The discovery of Lithium will also act as a propellent to the EV movement in the country.
Pankaj Sharma, Co-Founder and Director of Log9 Materials speaking on the discovery said “The unavailability of Lithium has been one of the reasons why India has been dependent on other countries for Li-Ion batteries and other EV components. Lithium being one of the core elements of the Li-Ion batteries and taking into consideration the financial impact of sourcing Lithium, the recent discovery of Lithium reserves in J&K does come in as a new lease of life as it further enables India’s ambition to become self-sufficient in its energy storage needs.
At a time when the government has been catalysing initiatives toward EV battery manufacturing and green mobility to reach its ambitious net-zero goal by 2070, the report from the Geological Survey of India about the discovery brings hope for localized production of Li-ion cells and batteries, which will also go a long way in reducing our trade deficits with the neighbouring country.”
Pratik Kamdar, Co-Founder,Neuron Energy said”With the increased adoption of electric mobility in recent years, there is a huge demand for Li-ion batteries. The recent finding of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium in Jammu & Kashmir will significantly boost the sector. Currently, India is also progressing into cell manufacturing of batteries and it will provide the much-needed impetus to the sector as it will reduce the dependence on imports while also solving the supply-chain challenges as the country will have its own reserves of lithium. There will also be a cost impact as the cells, when manufactured indigenously, will become cheaper.
Coupled with a favorable announcement by the Government of India during Union Budget 2023 on the exemption of Customs Duty on imports of capital goods and machinery for manufacturing of li-ion cells for EV batteries, this indigenous supply of lithium reserves will help the EV eco-system reach the masses at reasonable and affordable costs. Additionally, this will also support the Government’s vision of EV mass adoption by 2030.”