There has been no official statement from GSI, central or state governments. But an agency report citing GSI and state government officials said the find could meet 80% of India’s demand.
Understandably, the report created a stir throughout the day as analysts raced to draw commercial and strategic benefits for the country, especially ending China’s monopoly.
In Jaipur, however, a senior geologist with the state mines department indicated that the rejoicing may be premature. “Exploration was completed in some blocks in March. But the detection of lithium content will require testing, analysis and 4-5 months to determine whether it will make mining financially viable,” he said, requesting anonymity. He added that the exploration is at the pre-mining stage and if the findings indicate substantial lithium content then a further level of exploration would be required.
US Geological Survey That puts the total lithium reserves globally at just 80.7 million tonnes. About 54% of India’s lithium imports come from China, which accounts for 80% of the global supply. Available data shows that India imported lithium worth over Rs 6,000 crore in 2020-21, including Rs 3,500 crore worth from China.
What seems more likely is that a team of GSI surveyors looking for tungsten in the area could find traces of lithium, indicating the presence of large deposits. Degana was known for tungsten mining in the surrounding areas. Renaut hills. But cheap supplies from China forced the industry out of business after 1992-93.
On 9 February, the Center had announced the discovery of lithium with estimated reserves of 5.9 million tonnes valued at $410 billion. Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir but said that further studies were required to establish mining feasibility.