LITHIUM DEPOSITS - GEOGRAPHY
News: Lithium
reserve found in J&K's Reasi is of best quality: Official
What's in the news?
● The
country's first lithium reserve, found
in Jammu and Kashmir is of the best quality, and upbeat villagers expressed
hope the discovery will bring them a bright future.
Key takeaways:
● The
5.9million ton reserve of lithium, a crucial mineral for the manufacturing of
electric vehicles and solar panels, had been discovered in Reasi district by the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
● Lithium
falls in the critical resource category which was not earlier available in
India and it is dependent for its 100 percent import.
● The
G3 (advanced) study of the GSI shows the presence of best quality lithium in abundant quantity in the foothills of Mata
Vaishno Devi shrine at Salal village (Reasi).
● It
is reported that the normal grade of 220 parts per million (PPM), the lithium
found in J&K is of 500 ppm-plus
grading, and with a stockpile of 5.9 million tons, India will surpass China
in its availability.
Lithium:
● Lithium
is a soft, silver-white metal and is the
lightest of all the metals and the least dense solid element.
● It
is highly reactive and flammable,
and easily oxidizes in air or water.
Occurrence:
● Lithium
is a rare element and is mostly
found in minerals such as spodumene, lepidolite, and petalite.
● It
is also found in brines and clays in certain regions of the world, such as the
“Lithium Triangle” in South America,
which includes Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.
Reserves in the World:
Top 3 countries with total Lithium reserves:
Top 3 countries leading in Lithium extraction:
Uses:
● Lithium-ion batteries:
It is a critical component of rechargeable
batteries used in mobile devices, laptops, electric vehicles, and renewable
energy storage systems.
● Aerospace industry:
Lithium is used in the manufacturing of aircraft
parts due to its lightweight and strong structural properties.
● Glass and ceramics:
Lithium is used in the production of heat-resistant glass and ceramics, such as
ovenware and laboratory equipment.
● Pharmaceuticals:
Lithium is used as a mood stabilizer
in the treatment of bipolar disorder.
● Lubricants:
Lithium is used in greases and lubricants due to its ability to reduce friction
and wear.
Significance of Lithium Reserves for India:
1. Reduces Imports:
● Chile,
Australia, Argentina, China, and the US are a few of the countries in the world
with the largest overall lithium reserves, regardless of their stage of
development.
● India imports almost all
its lithium and rare earth metals.
● Hence,
the indigenous Lithium Reserves will reduce the import cost for India and are
geo-politically significant.
2. Improve employment opportunities:
● Lithium
is a key component in batteries for
electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems boosts employment
opportunities.
3. Boost to the manufacture of rechargeable batteries:
● Lithium
is widely used in batteries and is the basis for India's vision for transition
into e-vehicle manufacturing hubs.
4. Boost to the Economy:
● Lithium
is a valuable resource with a growing
demand and it has the huge market demand in the developing and developed
countries for their vision of clean energy transition.
5. Push for India’s Clean Energy targets:
● Lithium
is crucial in the production of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage
systems.
● It
is a key raw material for manufacturing e-vehicles and keeps its hold in the clean transportation industry.
6. Geo-political significance:
● China
is known to house large lithium reserves and has also secured many lithium
mines across multiple countries in order to ensure steady sources of supply for
both lithium and cobalt.
● Hence,
India’s Lithium reserves holds key significance geo-politically and
geo-strategically at present.
Government Measures:
1. Battery Storage Ecosystem:
● India
had recently unveiled its strategy for developing a battery storage ecosystem.
● It
involves setting up at least 50-gigawatt
hour manufacturing capacity for advanced chemistry cell batteries.
2. Production Linked Incentive (PLI):
● ₹18,100-crore
Production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to manufacture lithium-ion cells
within the country has been introduced.
● With
the government’s PLI scheme, demand for lithium is bound to increase and it
opens new opportunities for domestic exploration.
3. KABIL:
● Government
formed Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) - a joint venture comprising National
Aluminium Co. Ltd, Hindustan Copper Ltd and Mineral Exploration Co. Ltd.
● It
is looking to acquire cobalt and lithium
mines overseas. KABIL is also exploring the direct purchase of cobalt and
lithium.
4. Bilateral deals:
● The
Government is also trying to secure
government-to-government (G2G) deals. For instance, a recent case in point
is India’s bilateral agreement with
Argentina for securing strategic minerals.
● India and the US
are also looking at setting up an alternative supply chain for lithium.
5. Lithium exploration:
● Apart
from the discovery in Karnataka’s Mandya district, the Geological Survey of
India has taken up seven other lithium exploration projects in Arunachal
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and
Rajasthan.
6. Role of the private sector:
● Several
automobile majors are planning to jointly develop a manufacturing facility in Gujarat, which could eventually morph
into a global export hub for lithium-ion cells.
7. Grid Connectivity:
● India
is working on the world’s largest grid-scale battery storage programme, which
includes a 13 gigawatt-hour (GWh) facility in Ladakh and a 14 GWh system in Kutch.
● Large
battery storage that can store and reconvert electricity can help India’s
electricity grids as well, given the intermittent nature of power from clean
energy sources such as solar and wind.
WAY FORWARD:
1. Concentrate on other advanced battery technologies:
● As
China dominates the space of lithium-ion cell manufacturing, India has to take alternative steps and concentrate on
other advanced battery technologies.
2. Aluminium-based battery technology:
● India
has huge bauxite reserves, which
gives it access to aluminium at a cheap price.
● This
technology, as and when it matures commercially, will insulate India from
dependence on global import.
3. Early adoption of other battery technologies:
● Further,
India should strive to be an early adopter of other battery technologies such
as hydrogen fuel cells and solid-state batteries as well.
● Solid-state
batteries are being explored using metals such as aluminium. India holds an
upper hand with respect to the availability of different materials.
4. More exploration:
● India
should also try to intensify exploration within as well and exploit the
opportunity to re-purpose and recycle used lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium
has been dubbed “white gold” for its
widespread usage in items indispensable to modern-day living. If oil powered
the world in the 20th century, Lithium could play the same role in the 21st
century.