The Geological Survey of India during it’s 62nd Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting declared that 5.0 million tonnes of lithium reserves has been discovered in Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of J&K. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and one of the key components in lithium-ion batteries, the type of energy storage used most widely in various gadgets right from laptops, digital phones, to electric vehicles. The discovery of lithium is the first for India and it has opened avenues for India for not only being less dependent on lithium imports but also developing it’s own source for India’s clean energy goals by cutting carbon emissions to tackle global warming.Up till now there was no lithium presence in India which makes the country entirely dependent on countries like Australia, U.S., Argentina, Chile, etc., which have huge lithium reserves. According to experts this discovery will help India’s push to increase the number of private electric cars by 30% by 2030 and India will be surpassing some of these countries as per indicative report. However, experts have also said that the process of mining lithium is not environment friendly as it requires a lot of water.
Jammu and Kashmir mining secretary Amit Sharma said, “Finally, Jammu and Kashmir has made history in the mining sector as we have for the first time the discovered critical mineral lithium used in mobile batteries and electric vehicles. Congrats to all J&K residents as it has finally brought us on the global map in this ongoing G20 Presidency year”, . The quality of lithium found is reported to be of good quality (500+ppm).The residents of Salal are in jubilation that the lithium deposits will surely put their Reasi district up on the global map.