• The Geological Survey of India''s discovery of "5.9 million tonnes inferred lithium resources" in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir, has been hailed as a game-changer in India''s impending transition to a green economy.
• According to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Exploration) Act 1957, the term "inferred" refers to the "preliminary exploration stage," the second of four steps in the process.
• The discovery has significant strategic implications, but if the local population is not meaningfully engaged, the resulting tension could spark new socio-environmental conflicts.

Lithium

• Lithium (Li), also known as ''White gold'' due to its high demand for rechargeable batteries, is a soft, silvery-white metal.
• Depending on the deposit, lithium can be extracted in a variety of ways, including solar evaporation of large brine pools or hard-rock extraction of the ore.
• Uses: Lithium is an important component of electrochemical cells used in EV, laptop, and mobile batteries. It is also used in thermonuclear reactions. It is used to make alloys with aluminum and magnesium, increasing their strength and making them lighter.

Lithium Reserves in India

• A preliminary survey revealed estimated lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in a small patch of land surveyed in Southern Karnataka''s Mandya district.
• Mica belts in Rajasthan, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh.
• Pegmatite belts in Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
• Gujarat''s Rann of Kutch.

Significance

• Lithium-ion batteries are used in wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles, all of which are essential in a green economy.
• The demand for critical metals such as lithium (Li) and cobalt is expected to rise by nearly 500% by 2050.
• While the global electric vehicle market is expected to reach $823.75 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.2% from 2021 to 2030, India''s market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.76% by 2028.
• India is attempting to secure critical mineral supplies and achieve self-sufficiency in this sector.
• India currently imports all of its Li from Australia and Argentina, and 70% of its Li-ion cell requirement from China and Hong Kong, the lithium reserves in J&K could help the domestic battery manufacturing industry.
• If further exploration confirms the perceived size of mineral reserves in J&K, India could leapfrog China in terms of its Li stockpile.
• The J&K reserves will also contribute to the Indian government''s ambitious plan of "30% EV penetration in private cars, 70% for commercial vehicles, and 80% for two and three-wheelers by 2030 for the automobile industry."
• They will also help to strengthen India''s National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage.

Geostrategic concerns

• In the transition to net-zero carbon energy systems, critical mineral dependencies are a major geostrategic concern.
• As countries seek to avoid dependency and vulnerabilities related to critical minerals, the latter are likely to be at least as important as oil and gas in the near future.
• A high reliance on China for Lithium and other critical metals and their derivatives is also seen as a source of energy security risks.
• China currently controls 77% of global lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity and is home to six of the world''s ten manufacturing companies.
• As a result, the European Union, the United States, Canada, India, and other major economies have been attempting to leverage alternative supplies that can challenge China''s geopolitical dominance in this area.
• For example, in response to perceived national security concerns, the Canadian government has asked Chinese companies to divest from Canadian lithium-mining companies.

Geopolitical Rivalry with China

• The growing geopolitical rivalry with China makes India''s security concerns more pressing, especially in light of long-standing, and recently escalating, territorial and border disputes.
• To reduce reliance on China, the Indian government and industry are pushing for a ''Rare Earths Mission'' to exploit the country''s critical mineral reserves, which previously accounted for 6% of the world''s rare-earth reserves prior to the discovery of Lithium in J&K.
• Given the geopolitical sensitivity of its wider location, the new discovery has greater geostrategic implications.
• Although Reasi is in the relatively more stable Jammu region, the Union territory of J&K has historically been the site of cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, domestic insurgency, and terrorism.
• If the local population is not actively involved in the upcoming Li extraction project, the resulting tension could open up new avenues of socio-environmental conflict.

Environmental Effect of Lithium Mining

• The use of Lithium in renewable energy infrastructure frequently obscures its significant environmental consequences.
• Extraction of Lithium from hard rock mines, as proposed in J&K, entails open-pit mining followed by roasting the ore with fossil fuels. According to industry estimates, this process uses 170 cubic meters of water and emits 15 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of Li extracted.
• Open-pit mining, refining, and waste disposal from these processes significantly degrade the environment, including depleting and contaminating waterways and groundwater, reducing biodiversity, and emitting significant air pollution.

Mining in India different from Australia

• The geological context of mining in J&K differs significantly from that of Australia, which has the largest Lithium stock in hard rock mines.
• Li-bearing pegmatite deposits can be found in Australia''s ancient geological regions of the Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons, where continental rocks have been stable for over a billion years.
• The Himalaya, on the other hand, is the world''s youngest mountain range and is far more unstable (as evidenced by the ongoing tragedy in Joshimath).
• Land sinking incidents have also been reported from a village in Doda district in Chenab valley, which extends into some parts of Reasi.
• The socio-environmental effects of mining in India''s densely populated context are likely to be far worse than in Australia, and likely comparable to lithium extraction in South America.

The ‘Lithium Triangle’

• India could learn from the experiences of South American countries, particularly the ''lithium triangle'' of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, which contains roughly half of the world''s known Li.
• In Bolivia and Chile, Li extraction is either controlled by the state or requires mining companies to enter into a contract with state-owned companies.