New gold: The lithium stones in the Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir : Daily News Analysis

Date : 02/06/2023

Relevance – GS paper 1- Geography - Natural resources

Key Words - National Lithium Strategy, Nationalized Lithium, Lithium batteries.

Context –

  • The news of potentially significant reserves of lithium, an element needed to manufacture batteries used in electric cars and other renewable energy infrastructure, in Jammu and Kashmir has been welcomed universally. Commentators have called this a boost for national prosperity and security without dismissing concerns about the potential social and environmental impacts.

About:

  • Lithium (Li), sometimes also referred as ‘White gold’ due to its high demand for rechargeable batteries, is a soft and silvery-white metal.

Extraction:

  • Lithium can be extracted in different ways, depending on the type of the deposit — generally either through solar evaporation of large brine pools, or from hard-rock extraction of the ore.

Uses:

  • Lithium is an important component of electrochemical cells used in batteries of EVs, Laptops, Mobiles etc.
  • It is also used in thermonuclear reactions.
  • It is used to make alloys with aluminium and magnesium, improving their strength and making them lighter.
  • Magnesium-lithium alloy - for armour plating.
  • Aluminum-lithium alloys - in aircraft, bicycle frames and high-speed trains.

Global Distribution of lithium –

  • Australia, Chile, and China respectively are the three biggest producers and exporters of lithium, a metal that has the power to not only change the fate of those who control it but also the fate of the world. India has found a new ray of hope in the global competitive market - two new untouched reserves of this precious metal.
  • Bolivia, Argentina, USA are top three countries with most Lithium reserved.
  • Indian ranks 7th in world wide lithium reserve after newly found huge lithum reserve in jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan.
  • Lithium Triangle: Chile, Argentina, Bolivia.

जम्मू कश्मीर में मिले लिथियम के ...

What is the status of India’s lithium industry?

  • India’s electric-vehicle (EV) market was valued at $383.5 million in 2021, and is expected to expand to $152.21 billion in 2030.
  • India imported 450 million units of lithium batteries valued at $929.26 million (₹6,600 crore) in 2019-2020, which makes the development of the country’s domestic lithium reserves a matter of high stakes.
  • Scholars have argued that the ongoing global transition to low-carbon economies, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), and 5G networks will greatly reshape global and regional geopolitics.
  • The access to and control over rare minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, will play a crucial role in these epochal changes.

India's commitments towards green energy –

  • India’s announcement that it aims to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and to meet fifty percent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030 is a hugely significant moment for the global fight against climate change. India is pioneering a new model of economic development that could avoid the carbon-intensive approaches that many countries have pursued in the past – and provide a blueprint for other developing economies.

Who have the right over newly founded lithium reserve -

  • In July 2013, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled that the owner of the land has rights to everything beneath, “down to the centre of the earth”. Yet, large areas of land, including forests — which make up more than 22% of India’s landmass — hills, mountains, and revenue wasteland are publicly owned.
  • The Supreme Court also recalled that the Union government could always ban private actors from mining sensitive minerals, as is already the case with uranium under the Atomic Energy Act 1962. In today’s context, lithium is as important as, if not more than, uranium.

How countries manage lithium reserves?

The stories of two South American countries, Chile and Bolivia — which have the largest known reserves of lithium — are particularly instructive.

  • In Chile, the government has designated lithium as a strategic resource and its development has been made the exclusive prerogative of the state. announced a new “National Lithium Strategy”, which many in the corporate sector took to be a declaration of his intention to nationalise the industry. As a supplement, the new strategy calls for public-private partnerships for future lithium projects, which will allow the state to regulate the environmental impact of lithium-mining, distribute the revenue from lithium production more fairly among local communities, and promote domestic research into lithium-based green technologies.
  • Bolivia’s new constitution, developed under the leadership of former president Evo Morales and approved by a popular vote in February 2009, gave the state “the control and direction over the exploration, exploitation, industrialisation, transport, and commercialisation of natural resources.”
  • Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador also nationalised lithium in February this year, declaring, “Oil and lithium belong to the nation, they belong to the people of Mexico.”

In general, the countries in Latin and South America are thinking through ways and means to pursue a multi-pronged strategy. While the national governments of these countries exercise a significant degree of control, the nature of private sector participation varies between these countries. The actions of these governments are also a response to the mobilisation of Indigenous Peoples in the region who want to hold corporations as well as governments to account.

The way forward

As India explores and develops its own lithium reserves, it is notable that the appropriate development of this sector will require a very high level of effectiveness on the part of the Indian state. Much of India’s mineral wealth is mined from regions with very high levels of poverty, environmental degradation, and lax regulation. Effective and careful management of the sector should be paramount if India’s rare minerals development is to meet its multiple goals — social wellbeing, environmental safety, and national energy security.

Probable Question For mains exam –

  • Question 1: India has a huge potential to grow its EV market and fullfill its national and global commitments towards green energy. Analyze this statememt in light of recently found huge lithium reserve in jammu and kashmir. (10 Marks)
  • Question 2: "Having just enough resources is not enough, You also need a better management of these resources." Analyse this statement in context of India's newly found lithium reserve and management of lithium resources globally. (15 Marks)

Source - The Hindu