New Delhi

India received a major push to achieving self-reliance in manufacturing electric and solar batteries that it desperately needed for switching over to green energy as geologists have struck the world’s third largest deposits of Lithium in the hilly terrain of Jammu in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Geological Survey of India for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir," the Ministry of Mines said on Thursday.

Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries, rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and electric vehicles.

The officials of the Ministry of Minning released the report on the latest discoveries of precious and key medals in india:

Geological Survey of India has for the first time established 5.9 million tonnes of inferred resources (G3) of lithium in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi District of Jammu & Kashmir (UT).@GeologyIndia

1/2 pic.twitter.com/tH5uv2BL9m

— Ministry Of Mines (@MinesMinIndia) February 9, 2023

It’s also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys, and clocks Lithium is a precious element used for rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and electric vehicles in the hilly district of Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.

This is the third biggest deposit of Lithium found in the world. To date, the highest reserves have been struck in Bolivia recently. The second one At 8 million tonnes is in Chile.

At present total Lithium resources with China are 5.1 MT and with the USA 7.9 MT.

The Jammu & Kashmir discovery of 5.9 MT, if the GSI calculation is correct, could be a game changer not only for the Union territory but also for the country.

So far, India depended on Australia and Argentina for lLithium imports.

Experts say that the discovery could aid India's push to increase the number of private electric cars by 30 percent by 2030.

In 2021, GSI discovered a much smaller deposit of Lithium in Karnataka.

The demand for green energy has increased the demand for rare metals, including lithium, the world over.

According to BBC, China has recently signed a $1bn deal to develop Bolivia's vast lithium reserves estimated at 21m tonnes and probably the largest in the world.

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According to the World Bank, the mining of crucial minerals will need to be increased by 500 percent by 2050.