Feb 10, 2023
By: Sourabh Jain
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The 5.9 million tonnes lithium deposit discovery is the first major one in India. Earlier in 2021, a 1,600-tonne reserve of lithium was discovered in Karnataka.
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With the latest discovery, India’s lithium reserves are now the sixth highest in the world, only behind Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and China.
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Bolivia, a South American country, has over a fifth of the world’s total discovered lithium reserves, at 21 million tonnes. China signed a $1 billion deal in January with Bolivia to develop its reserves.
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Lithium discovery will boost the Indian government’s attempts to decarbonize the economy. The government has set a goal of reaching net zero by 2030, with incentives to manufacture batteries locally.
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Lithium is a key component of batteries powering electric vehicles. With countries increasingly pivoting towards EVs, lithium demand is expected to increase from 0.5 million metric tonnes in 2021 to 3-4 million metric tonnes by 2030, according to a McKinsey report.
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According to the latest report by the US Geological Survey, total identified lithium reserves in the world stand at 98 million tonnes as of January 2023.
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Extracting one tonne of lithium requires 0.5 million litres of water. It could also result in the poisoning of water reservoirs.
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A sustained rise in lithium demand has led prices to rise 3x in 2022. In November 2022, lithium prices hit an all-time high of $88,478 per tonne, up 202 percent over the same period in the previous year.
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According to the World Bank, the mining of crucial minerals will need to increase by 500 percent by 2050, to meet the global climate targets.
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