After Karnataka, the boon of lithium was recently found in Jammu and Kashmir, and its amount is around 5.5% of the world’s total discovered lithium reserve. The total amount of lithium all across the globe has been calculated at 9.8 crore tons, half of which is in Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. And with the new reserves of lithium found, India can reach the second spot in the list of countries with lithium deposits. Currently, Chile has lithium deposits of 92 lakh tons, Australia, 57 lakh tons, Argentina, 22 lakh tons, Portugal, 15 lakh tons, China, 15 lakh tons, and the USA, 75 thousand tons.
59 lakh tons of lithium has been found in India, whose cost is 3384 billion Rupees, and one ton of lithium costs 57.36 lakh Rupees. It is also being expected that the Mandya district of Karnataka has lithium deposits of around 1600 tons. Until now, India has been importing lithium from Argentina and Australia. Lithium’s grade is 220 PPM, and the lithium found in Jammu and Kashmir has a grade of more than 550 PPM. In terms of quantity, India will leave China behind.
While the world is switching to green-energy, the demand of lithium jumped up 30 times between 2000 and 2015, and as compared to 2015, the demand in 2025 can be 1000% higher. Lithium is the basic need for making batteries for electric vehicles and solar panels. Now, these lithium reserves will make India self-sufficient for the same. The prices of EV will go down, and other than in batteries, mobile phones, and laptops, lithium is also used for treatment.
