What is Lithium?
Lithium (Li) is a soft and silvery-white metal.
Lithium sometimes also referred as ‘White gold’ due to its high demand for rechargeable batteries.
Uses:
Lithium is an important component of electrochemical cells used in batteries of EVs, Laptops, Mobiles etc.
It is also used in thermonuclear reactions.
It is used to make alloys with aluminium and magnesium, improving their strength and making them lighter.
Uses:
Magnesium-lithium alloy - for armour plating.
Aluminum-lithium alloys - in aircraft, bicycle frames and high-speed trains.
Importance of it
Green economy: Lithium-ion batteries are used in wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles, all of which are crucial in a green economy.
According to World Bank demand for critical metals such as lithium (Li) and cobalt is expected to rise by nearly 500% by 2050.
Ongoing global transition to low-carbon economies, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), and 5G networks will greatly reshape global and regional geopolitics.
The access to and control over rare minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, will play a crucial role in these epochal changes.
India’s lithium reserve
In February 2023, the Geological Survey of India has for the first-time established Lithium ‘inferred’ resources(G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir.
In India: Preliminary survey showed reserves in a small patch of land surveyed in Southern Karnataka’s Mandya district.
Mica belts in Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh.
Pegmatite belts in Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
What is the status of India’s lithium industry?
The global and Indian electric vehicle market is projected to rise by 2030.
India is seeking to secure its critical mineral supplies and build self-sufficiency in this sector.
As India currently imports all of its Li from Australia and Argentina and 70% of its Li-ion cell requirement from China and Hong Kong.
India imported 450 million units of lithium batteries valued at ₹6,600 crore in 2019-2020, which makes the development of the country’s domestic lithium reserves a matter of high stakes.
The lithium reserves in J&K could boost the domestic battery-manufacturing industry.
If the perceived size of the mineral reserves in J&K is borne out by further exploration, India could jump ahead of China vis-à-vis its Li stockpile.
Who should own these minerals?
In July 2013, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled that the owner of the land has rights to everything beneath, “down to the centre of the earth”.
Yet, large areas of land, including forests — which make up more than 22% of India’s landmass — hills, mountains, and revenue wasteland are publicly owned.
The Supreme Court also recalled that the Union government could always ban private actors from mining sensitive minerals,
as is already the case with uranium under the Atomic Energy Act 1962.
In today’s context, lithium is as important as, if not more than, uranium.
How do other countries manage lithium reserves?
Chile and Bolivia — which have the largest known reserves of lithium — are particularly instructive.
In Chile, the government has designated lithium as a strategic resource and its development has been made the exclusive prerogative of the state.
In Bolivia - Government nationalised lithium and adopted a hard line against private and foreign participation.
In Mexico - nationalised lithium.
The national governments of these countries exercise a significant degree of control, the nature of private sector participation varies between these countries.
Steps to be taken
The appropriate development of this sector will require a very high level of effectiveness on the part of the Indian state.
Much of India’s mineral wealth is mined from regions with very high levels of poverty, environmental degradation, and lax regulation.
Effective and careful management of the sector should be paramount if India’s rare minerals development is to meet its multiple goals — social wellbeing, environmental safety, and national energy security.
The region Reasi is in the relatively more stable Jammu region, the Union territory of J&K has been the site of historical cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, domestic insurgency, and terrorism.
If the local population isn’t meaningfully engaged in the impending Li extraction project, the resulting tension could introduce new frontiers of socio-environmental conflict.
Equally importantly, the most effective use of Li reserves should be for the most important parts of the renewable-energy transition, which would also aid the goals of addressing energy poverty and sustainable development.
To these ends, reducing luxury consumption and promoting public transport should also be an important part of the agenda of a just transition.
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