Minister of Mines, Coal, and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Monday said the decision to start the auction of the Lithium reserve found in the Reasi district of the Union Territory will be taken up by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha whether the Union Government has planned to auction Lithium reserves found in Jammu and Kashmir by December 2023, the Minister said that the decision regarding auctioning of the Lithium mineral block in Jammu & Kashmir will be taken up by the Jammu and Kashmir government as on date.
Giving details about the presence of Lithium reserves in the Union Territory, the Minister said the Geological Survey of India has carried out a 'preliminary exploration' i.e. G3 stage mineral exploration project on Bauxite, Rare Earth Elements and Lithium in Salal Haimna areas of Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir during FS 2020-21 and 2021-22 and has confirmed an inferred resource (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore.
When asked whether the discovered deposits are located in areas with human habitation, the minister said that there are scattered houses in the mineralized block of Salal-Haimna in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
India possesses advanced technology to extract Lithium
The Mines Minister further said that the processing and refining methods for Lithium ore can vary depending on the type of lithium deposit, the characteristics of the ore, and the intended end-use of the Lithium compounds.
"India is capable of developing technologies for beneficiation of Lithium ore to Lithium mineral concentrate. Successful experimentation has been done for the extraction of Lithium from mineral concentrate on a laboratory scale", he said.
The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research under the Department of Atomic Energy has established 1600 tonnes (inferred category) of Lithium resources in the Marlagalla area, Mandya District, Karnataka.
This is a preliminary estimate and since then, exploration inputs by AMDER are focused to convert the preliminary estimate to an exploitable category and a higher degree of confidence and to augment Lithium resources in the adjoining extension areas.
Bench scale studies have been completed on hydrometallurgical extraction of Lithium from Spodumene mineral concentrate from the area to produce very pure Lithium Carbonate.
5.9 million tonnes of Lithium reserves found in J&K's Reasi district
Lithium reserves were found for the first time in the country and that too in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
"This is for the first time that Lithium reserves have been discovered in the country and that too in Jammu and Kashmir," informed Union Mines Secretary, Vivek Bharadwaj while speaking at the 62nd Central Geological Programming Board meeting in New Delhi on February 10 this year.
On the occasion, Vivek Bhardwaj also handed over two Major Mineral Blocks Geological Reports of Lithium Blocks in Jammu Division and G3 Study (Advanced Study) of Lithium, AI, and Titanium in Jammu division, located in Reasi District to Secretary Mining J&K Amit Sharma for taking further necessary action in the matter.
The Lithium deposits are very critical for India as the government has been focussing on electric cars, especially in the metro cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and others.
