Suddenly finding a huge lithium mine, India suddenly became a ‘big man’ in the field of batteries and electric vehicles

God’s gift

On Thursday, February 10, the Indian government announced that 5.9 million tons of lithium, an important mineral for the production of electric vehicles and solar panels, had been discovered in areas of the world. Jammu and Kashmir region of the country.

This is the first major discovery of lithium in India. Before that, the only deposit of this metal was a small deposit of just 1,600 tons discovered in the state of Karnataka two years ago. Until the time of publication, the country had been dependent on Australia, Chile and Argentina for the import of lithium needed for its manufacturing sectors.

Mine secretary Vivek Bharadwaj has said that the new lithium mine will help India become “aatmanirbhar”, a slogan often promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which means “self-reliance”. And this discovery is certainly a milestone in India’s quest to become a global manufacturing leader. The announcement event also comes just days after the US Secretary of Commerce announced a strategic cooperation plan between the two countries to increase competition with China.

In a word, the amount of lithium from the discovery alone means that India now has the 5th largest lithium reserves in the world, surpassing that of the US. However, refining lithium ore into a usable mineral for battery production is a complex process. It means that India will have to depend on imports for at least a few more years.

Does India dream of electric cars?

Lithium is often referred to as “white gold” due to the increasing value of lithium batteries in the production of items such as phones, laptops and electric vehicles. As the electric vehicle industry is expected to reach an annual market size of more than $800 billion by 2030, the newly found ore reserves could provide a huge return for manufacturing companies in India. .

The discovery could also help the Indian government deliver on its recent promise to increase the number of private electric cars by 30% by 2030. The World Bank says the extraction of important minerals such as cobalt , graphite and lithium will need to increase by 500% to meet the global climate targets by 2050.

However, the process of mining and refining lithium has long been criticized for its significant environmental impacts. The element is most commonly found in underground reservoirs, meaning its extraction often pollutes and cuts off scarce water supplies in rural communities. In addition, the manufacturing process also involves heating the ore to a high temperature, and this process can only be achieved cost-effectively when burning fossil fuels. That is, to have 1 ton of lithium, 15 tons of carbon dioxide will be released into the air.

Which country has the largest lithium reserves in the world?

Most of the world’s lithium reserves are found in vast salt flats in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. To date, Bolivia is still the country with the largest lithium reserves in the world. But most of them are still in the ground because this country does not have a developed enough infrastructure to exploit. As a result, Bolivia does not rank high on the list in terms of actual lithium production.

Refer to Qz