On February 9 this year, the
Geological Survey of India confirmed that an estimated 5.9 million tonnes of
Lithium resources (G3) have been established in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi
district in Jammu and Kashmir, which will reduce India's dependence on lithium
imports.
The discovery is strategically
important for India as it will go a long way in addressing the shortage of
lithium and will help India’s efforts to move towards net zero emission target
by 2070. Now India will become the
seventh largest resource of lithium globally, though it will take time to
convert it into reserves.
What is Lithium and where is it used?,
Lithium is a soft, shiny grey non-ferrous metal
found in the earth’s crust. It is a highly reactive and alkaline metal.
It is one of the key components in electric vehicle
(EV) batteries. It is about half as dense as water and, in its pure, elemental
form, is a soft, silvery-white metal. Being highly reactive, it is never found
naturally as a metal. Scientists have
suggested that this is a cosmic element that formed from the bright stellar
explosions called novae.
It is a core component in
batteries, which the electrification of the world depends heavily on. Lithium is
needed as a core material for Lithium-ion batteries, which are often used in
electric cars and for storing energy from renewable energy generators such as
solar and wind. Most cars and all vehicles in the future are projected to
operate entirely on batteries, for which lithium is an essential component.
Lithium is also added to glass and
ceramics for strengthening, alloyed with aluminium and copper to save weight in
airframe structures, and used in certain psychiatric medications.
In addition, it is increasingly in
demand as an integral part of smartphones, advanced computers, and airplanes,
making it a vital energy resource for ambitious governments and corporate
empires.
Due to its utility in diverse applications, it is also
referred to as ‘White Gold’.
Obstacles before India to win
the Lithium war against other exporting countries,
As the world rapidly transitions from fossil fuels to electrification and
advanced batteries, China is already a frontrunner in the geopolitical race to
dominate the international lithium trade.
In the last about 32 years, China has come a long way in terms of
production. China makes 4 out of 10 Lithium batteries used in the world today;
with a target to manufacture 40 percent
of electric cars by 2030.
Today, China alone is produces 77 percent of imported lithium's batteries.
More than half of lithium, cobalt and graphite processing and refining capacity
is located in China.
While Europe accounts for more than one-quarter of global EV assembly, it
accounts for very little of the supply chain, apart from cobalt processing at
20%.
The United States has an even smaller role (with only 10% of EV production
and 7% of battery production capacity).
Most of the minerals are mined in resource-rich countries such as
Australia, Chile and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and handled by a few
major companies. Governments in Europe and the United States have undertaken
bold public sector initiatives to develop domestic battery supply chains.
Among all these figures, India imports lithium from China and Hong Kong, of
which it is dependent on China for 80 per cent.
India currently imports all lithium and lithium-ion batteries, mainly from
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Vietnam and spent over Rs 26,700 crore on these
imports from 2018-19 to 2020-21, according to department of commerce data.
In which, in 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21, China’s share in India’s
overall import of lithium batteries was 19.8%, 20.7%, and 32%, respectively. In
2018-19, China accounted for 81% of India’s imports. Though slightly down,
China’s share in 2019-20 and 2020-21 remained at 68.2% and 72.7%, respectively.
So far India was one of the largest importers of Lithium from China. So
China had a de facto monopoly in exporting Lithium-ion batteries to India.
In such a situation, this discovery of 5.9 million tonnes of Lithium
resources can prove to be a geopolitical game changer for India.
However, there is another twist in the story.
Energy experts and people in the EV sector believe that the lithium
reserves will provide a major boost to India’s energy transition and also will
potentially allow India to compete with Bolivia (21 million tonnes) and Chile
(8 million tonnes), and Australia (2.7 million tonnes), Argentina (2 million
tonnes) and most importantly China (1 million tons).
Although the GSI has inferred an estimate of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium
deposits, scientists said- if verified, would make it the world’s
second-largest reserve after Chile’s 8 million tonnes, the estimate was based
on early-stage prospecting the so-called
G3 stage of mineral resource assessment that identifies areas with possible
reserves but does not provide clear estimates of how much of the reserves are
economically viable.
But the announcement has evoked excitement among sections of energy
researchers who say even half of the estimated 5.9 million tonnes would be a
significant abundance of this strategic economic metal.
An IISD study found that access to critical elements such as lithium is a
key challenge faced by companies investing in India's EV ecosystem, while
in-house and international companies will have to wait for 6 more years.
Natural resources experts have warned that it could take at least a decade
for India to access the new reserves. For example, the presence of 1,600 tonnes
of lithium resources in the Mandya district of Karnataka, with no reports of
resource mining to date.
Other hidden risks related
with lithium reserves in India,
The finding of Lithium Reserve in
India has great strategic importance. It can reduce India’s dependence on
Imports and make India self-reliant as it transitions to Green Mobility, but it
also creates several challenges before the
nation. Let’s discuss….
Does India have a proper
technology for lithium mining?,
India lacks technology to extract
lithium and purify it. Lithium is mixed with rocks and other minerals. It requires
breaking the rocks, removing volatile chemicals with evaporation and magnetic
impurities with magnets besides other chemicals and processing.
India has no prior experience in
extracting Lithium, nor has it tested domestic technology. There is also a lack
of an established Lithium extraction industry .
Natural resource experts warn it
could take at least a decade for India to access the new reserves. India
currently lacks the technology to excavate and produce lithium.
It is also claimed that over the
last four decades, sufficient research has not been performed to address the
sustainability difficulties posed by lithium mining and processing,
particularly the question of its impacts on local populations.
What about local
environmental and earthquake sensitivities?
This lithium reserve is located in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi
district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is placed in seismic zone IV as per Indian Seismic
Zoning Map, which means it is located in a high damage risk zone. The district
has experienced several low-intensity earthquakes last year, and is also part
of the famous Kashmir seismic gap, where scientists have already predicted
earthquakes of more than 8 points on the Richter scale.
In addition to being prone to major
earthquakes, the region is vulnerable to landslides, which often result in loss
of life, which means that mining can have devastating effects in geologically and
ecologically sensitive areas.
At the same time, Kashmiri
environmentalists are focusing more on how lithium extraction will affect the
ecology of the natural Himalayan region. A report published by The Nature
Conservancy, an environmental organization, states that proven techniques for
lithium extraction require large amounts of land and can result in the removal
of native vegetation.
This mining will also have many
effects on agricultural production, especially when the sector is already
highly vulnerable to climate change. As well as the mining process is extremely
water-intensive, and also contaminates the land and the water supplies if not
done in a sustainable method.
Second, where will the wildlife
like leopard, panther, Himalayan black bear, fox, wild goat and wild cow live
in the regional forest?.
Will this discovery lead to
regional human displacement and damage to the region's fragile ecology?
The Indian government is planning
to hold an auction for the reserves in early June, with the caveat that refined
lithium can only be processed within India, which will certainly boost India's
domestic production, along with the expectations of a job with a good salary
offer.
However, residents of Jammu and
Kashmir's south-west Reasi district say they fear being evicted from their land
because of these mining operations. If
mining is not done properly, the surrounding communities will have to leave
their homes and move to urban areas.
GSI said the site is an
"inferred resource" of the metal, which means it is at a preliminary
exploration stage, the second of a four-step process.
Reports indicate that approximately
2.2 million litres of water are needed to produce one tonne of lithium.
Further, mining in the unstable Himalayan terrain is fraught with risks.
In addition to this, lithium
extraction requires significant water resources and generates polluting
emissions. The lithium is also located in an ecologically fragile region.
Natural resource extraction has fueled anger in other local communities, contributing
to conflict in parts of eastern India.
Although Reasi isn’t as volatile as
the Kashmir valley, it has seen anti-government violence in the past. Under such circumstances, neighboring Pakistan
could exploit local resistance to lithium extraction to draw global attention
to what it sees as India’s repressive rule over Kashmir.
All and all, India boasts of a more powerful economy and EV supply system
in the future after the discovery of Lithium. At the same time, committed to a
full-scale energy transition, and battling intense competition with China.
But even with a strong will, capacity constraints and other challenges mean
India has a long way to go before it can capitalize on the lithium boon.
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