Overseas Miners to Take Part in Jammu and Kashmir Lithium Reserve Auction

The recently discovered lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir are up for auction. According to sources, the union government may conduct the auction over the next few weeks, and interested parties include overseas miners as well. However, the union mines ministry has not officially responded to the matter.

The union government has decided to conduct the auction over the next few weeks. India needs a large quantity of lithium, a critical raw material used to make electric vehicle batteries, for a successful transition to clean energy. In February, India discovered large lithium deposits in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to sources, the country could extract 5.9 million tonnes of lithium from there, despite the fact that this is only a fraction of the required quantity. The majority of the lithium required for domestic use has been imported from China, which has the world”s largest lithium deposits.

The government allowed private miners to extract lithium last year, despite the fact that lithium mining falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Atomic Energy, which forbids private players from mining or producing it, given that only foreign private companies have the expertise and resources to conduct lithium mining.

Meanwhile, KABIL, a state-owned joint venture formed to explore minerals overseas, has been trying to secure lithium blocks in Argentina and Chile. KABIL, an acronym for Khanij Bidesh India Ltd, was established in August 2019 with the aim of identifying, acquiring, developing, and processing strategic minerals abroad for use in India.

India, one of the world”s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, has been seeking international agreements to secure essential minerals from resource-rich countries such as Australia, Argentina, and Chile.