Rajasthan’s Degana (Nagaur) has become the latest location to discover a reserve of lithium, a crucial mineral used in making mobile-laptop, electric vehicle, and other chargeable batteries.
Rajasthan government officials have stated that this reserve is much bigger than the one previously found in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to GSI and mining officials, the amount of lithium present in these reserves can satisfy 80 percent of India’s total demand, which may reduce India’s dependency on China for lithium. This comes months after India’s first-ever lithium reserve was discovered in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to reports, India has been relying on China for its Lithium supply, but with the recent discovery of a significant reserve in Rajasthan, India may no longer need to depend on foreign sources. Rajasthan government officials claim that this newly found reserve is much larger than the previous one discovered in Jammu and Kashmir.
This discovery could potentially reduce India’s reliance on China for Lithium and may lead to the rise of Rajasthan’s fortunes, similar to the Gulf countries. The reserve is located in the same area where Tungsten mineral was previously sourced for the country during British rule in 1914.
During the British rule, the Tungsten mineral discovered on the Renwat hill in Degana was utilized for making war material for the British Army during World War I. After independence, it found its use in manufacturing surgical instruments, energy, and healthcare sectors in India, providing employment to around 1500 individuals.
However, in 1992-93, China’s cheap export policy made the tungsten produced in this region expensive, leading to its discontinuation. Consequently, this once-inhabited hill that contributed to the country’s development by providing tungsten for years was abandoned overnight.
Officials have stated that the discovery of Lithium in Rajasthan’s Degana hill, which was once a deserted area, will now change the fate of Rajasthan and India. Lithium, the lightest and softest metal in the world, is crucial in making battery-powered devices such as laptops, mobiles and electric vehicles.
Due to its high demand, it is also referred to as “White Gold” and is valued at around Rs 57.36 lakh per ton globally. As the world moves towards green energy, the use of Lithium is increasing in various sectors such as wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles.
The global demand for Lithium metal is expected to increase by 500 percent by 2050, according to a report by the World Bank. With this in mind, the discovery of vast Lithium reserves in Rajasthan is not only beneficial for the state, but also for India’s economy as a whole.
Currently, Bolivia has the world’s largest Lithium reserves of 21 million tonnes, followed by Argentina, Chile and the United States. Despite this, China, which holds reserves of 5.1 million tonnes of Lithium, continues to dominate the global market.
India is also heavily dependent on China for Lithium imports, with 53.76 percent of its total imports coming from China. In the 2020-21 fiscal year, India imported over Rs 6,000 crore worth of Lithium, with more than Rs 3,500 crore worth of Lithium purchased from China.
Officials are optimistic that the abundant Lithium reserves found in Rajasthan could put an end to China’s monopoly and help India achieve self-sufficiency in green energy. The discovery of Lithium reserves in Rajasthan is an intriguing story. The GSI survey team was dispatched to Degana by the Central Government to locate high-grade tungsten minerals. However, during their survey, the team stumbled upon significant Lithium deposits in the area.
