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India is hopeful of finding more lithium reserves in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and continues exploration in the region.
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 5.9 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.
“We have given them the report and asked them to conduct auctions at the earliest,” Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for Mines and Coal, said.
Auctions of these reserves in J&K are likely in December. The J&K administration is also in the process of appointing a transaction advisor.
“Exploration continues in the region (Resai), and we are hopeful of positive results (more lithium finds) this year itself. This could add to our lithium resource base,” Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Mines Ministry said.
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.
Indian Imports
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.
“We are focussed on securing critical mineral. Exploration of lithium and cobalt, along with other critical minerals are on,” Joshi said, adding that the Geographical Society of India (GSI) is already carrying out 151-odd exploration projects in the country.
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
According to Joshi, 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. These would be long-term agreements. So obviously, some of the details are under non-disclosure agreements,” Joshi said.
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