Baseless and misleading: GSI debunks report of lithium found Rajasthan
Geological Survey of India (GSI) has denied reports that lithium reserve has been found in Rajasthan. Rejecting reports on finding a vast lithium reserve in the state, GSI called it baseless and misleading. The reaction comes days after reports claiming vast lithium reserve has been discovered in Rajasthan's Degana. The reports had also claimed that the quality of the mineral, a key element to manufacture EV batteries, is better than even the reserve found earlier in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to a report on Mint, GSI debunked the reports saying the claims of the new lithium reserve is baseless. The report had claimed that the lithium reserve is so vast that it can meet 80 per cent of India's energy demand. GSI also said that neither its regional headquarters, nor the central headquarters of the surveyor, provided any such information.
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In a clarification issued after the report was widely circulated in the media, the GSI said it has been exploring the same area, part of Nagaur district in Rajasthan, to look for tungsten, lithium and other rare earth minerals. The agency has been exploring the region for such material since 2019. GSI said a final report on mineral reserve and its nature can only be confirmed after its drilling process is complete.
The report of the lithium discovery got prominence after Pramod Bhaya, Minister for Mines in Rajasthan, said that the GSI survey hinted at large lithium reserve in Nagaur. He was quoted by several media outlets saying that the lithium reserve ‘is more than Jammu and Kashmir’.
India imports lithium mainly from Australia and Argentina. China and Hong Kong are the two main countries from where India imports lithium-ion cells which are used to develop EV batteries. However, after the discovery of around 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year, it is expected that India's dependency on lithium imports will reduce drastically in coming years. However, it all depends on the mining of the mineral and finally processing it for end use in different sectors.
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