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09/05/23 06:09 AM IST

India's Geological Survey discovers second lithium reserve in Rajasthan

In News
  • In yet another boost for India’s net zero emissions, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has discovered lithium reserves in Rajasthan's Degana (Nagaur).
About the location
  • The Geological Survey of India (GSI) recently confirmed the discovery of lithium reserves in Rajasthan, though the capacity of the reserve has not been disclosed.
  • The reserve is believed to be even larger than the 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves discovered in Jammu & Kashmir.
  • The lithium reserves in Rajasthan are located in the same Renvat hill of Degana and its surrounding area, where Tungsten mineral was once supplied to the country.
Properties of Lithium
  • It is a chemical element with the symbol Li.
  • It is a soft, silvery-white metal.
  • Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
  • It is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in mineral oil.
  • It is an alkali metal and a rare metal.
  • The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium, and francium. Together with hydrogen they constitute group 1, which lies in the s-block of the periodic table.
  • Rare Metals (RM) include Niobium (Nb), Tantalum (Ta), Lithium (Li), Beryllium (Be), Cesium (Cs) etc. and Rare Earths (RE) include Lanthanum (La) to Lutetium (Lu) besides Scandium (Sc) and Yttrium (Y).
  • These metals are strategic in nature with wide application in the nuclear and other high tech industries such as electronics, telecommunication, information technology, space, defense etc.
Significance of the discovery
  • India’s annual lithium-ion battery market is expected to grow to 116 GWh by FY2030 from 2.6 GWh in FY2021, with EVs accounting for 90 per cent of the overall market, according to a report by JMK Research and The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
  • However, with China currently dominating lithium mining and processing, India has been dependent on imports from neighbouring countries.
  • The discovery of lithium reserves in India will enable the country to reduce its dependence on foreign countries and control the fluctuating price of lithium.
Source- Business Standard

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