{"id":2676,"date":"2024-11-20T15:29:19","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T09:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/?p=2676"},"modified":"2024-11-20T15:29:19","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T09:59:19","slug":"indias-ambitious-lithium-dreams-have-stalled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/indias-ambitious-lithium-dreams-have-stalled\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s ambitious lithium dreams have stalled"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 id=\"headline\" class=\"post-header__text__title\">India\u2019s ambitious lithium dreams have stalled<\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"post-header__text__dek\">Last year, India touted the discovery of a huge reserve of valuable lithium in Kashmir. Experts say optimism around the discovery was overblown.<\/h3>\n<div class=\"post-subheader__byline\">By\u00a0<a class=\"author url fn\" title=\"Posts by Yashraj Sharma\" href=\"https:\/\/restofworld.org\/author\/yashraj-sharma\/\" rel=\"author\">Yashraj Sharma<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-subheader__meta meta\">\n<div class=\"post-subheader__meta-dateline\"><time datetime=\"2024-11-05\">5 November 2024<\/time>\u00a0\u2022 Salal, Kashmir<\/div>\n<div id=\"translate\" class=\"post-subheader__meta-translation \">\n<div class=\"translations-options-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"google-translate unloaded\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-subheader__summary\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"summary\">\n<ul>\n<li>In 2023, the Indian government announced a lithium reserve of 5.9 million metric tons in Kashmir.<\/li>\n<li>The government has since failed to find bidders for the reserve, and extraction plans have been halted.<\/li>\n<li>Industry experts say the government\u2019s reports around the reserve were misleading and inadequate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sunil Thakur, a 24-year-old engineering graduate, once planned to build a career as a civil engineer. But jobs were scarce, and so Thakur spent his days frying samosas for his family\u2019s snack shop in Salal \u2014 a picturesque mountain village of about 10,000 people in India\u2019s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n<p>Then, in February 2023, Thakur\u2019s dreams of prosperity were suddenly revived.<\/p>\n<p>India\u2019s mining ministry informed the villagers that they were sitting on a fortune: 5.9 million metric tons of lithium, a silver-white metal that is a core component of the batteries necessary for India\u2019s transition to clean energy.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery \u2014 a first in India \u2014 would make the country the holder of the fifth-largest lithium reserve in the world, mining officials\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/industry\/indl-goods\/svs\/metals-mining\/lithium-reserve-found-in-j-ks-reasi-is-of-best-quality-official\/articleshow\/97824710.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a>. Indian media outlets jubilantly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/india-news\/mitsubishi-tesla-and-ola-electric-to-bid-for-india-s-lithium-reserves-123052900809_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>\u00a0that companies including Mitsubishi, Tesla, and Ola Electric were eyeing the reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Thakur and his family started daydreaming about selling their land in exchange for \u201ca duplex home in a big Indian city, and loads of cash,\u201d he said. He imagined investing in the family business, first established by his grandfather nearly four decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>Two years later, nothing has happened. The government tried to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/commodities\/indias-jammu-kashmir-lithium-block-gets-no-bids-second-attempt-source-says-2024-07-03\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">auction the lithium block twice in March<\/a>, and failed both times, due to a lack of bidders. The extraction plans have been halted indefinitely.<\/p>\n<p>There were several red flags surrounding the auction, according to PV Rao, a senior geologist in the mineral industry who represents India at the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards, a forum that sets standards for exploration results.<\/p>\n<p>For one, the amount of lithium in the Salal reserve is much less significant than initially reported, Rao and other industry experts told\u00a0<em>Rest of World<\/em>. They said that only about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/power\/india-faces-uphill-battle-in-lithium-mining-and-exploration\/107003624\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">0.02 million tonnes<\/a>\u00a0of lithium carbonate is present in the ore body, a small fraction of the levels seen in other major reserves. Secondly, the reserve holds minerals in clay-deposit form, which is difficult to mine commercially.<\/p>\n<p>According to Rao, the geological report commissioned by the government didn\u2019t contain enough information about the reserve to meet international standards. \u201cThat report is [a] very, very skeleton type of report with limited information, based on which the bids are being made,\u201d he said, adding that genealogical reports produced by the Indian government often contain \u201cmisleading and quite inadequate\u201d information.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was irresponsible of the government to act that way. It is nothing but actually hiding the facts,\u201d Rao said. \u201cAre you trying to sell it and put the investors into doom?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"pullquote pullquote--right-rail\">\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIt was irresponsible of the government to act that way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>According to Saurabh Priyadarshi, a former chief geologist at Geoxplorers Consulting Services with 30 years of experience advising conglomerates in the mining and metal business, \u201cthe auctions will fail every time if offered in its unexplored form\u201d due to \u201cinadequate information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shafiq Ahmed, who was a district mineral officer at Reasi in Jammu when the Ministry of Mines announced the reserve, told\u00a0<em>Rest of World<\/em>\u00a0that a handful of private companies tested the samples independently and \u201cwere not satisfied\u201d with the quantity and quality of the lithium. \u201cThat\u2019s why the companies are walking back on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is neither feasible nor financially viable,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cThe government announced it in haste.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lithium was first\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thedispatch.blob.core.windows.net\/thedispatchimages\/2023\/02\/63ea442bb84f0-63ea442bb84f1Report-on-Regional-Geochemical-Survey-for-Base-Metals-and-Lithium-In-Salal-Area-Field-Season-1995-96-1996-97.pdf.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">discovered<\/a>\u00a0in Salal by accident when a team of geologists\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneycontrol.com\/news\/india\/the-intriguing-history-of-mineral-exploration-in-reasi-jks-lithium-village-10179381.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visited<\/a>\u00a0the region in the 1990s looking for bauxite, a source of aluminum. Decades later, in 2018, as lithium became important in the global transition to clean energy, Indian mining officials returned to the area for exploration.<\/p>\n<p>Even if the reserve were truly stocked with \u201cwhite gold,\u201d as lithium is now sometimes called, mining in Salal village is fraught with challenges. For companies looking to invest in minerals, Jammu and Kashmir is a region full of uncertainties, Puneet Gupta, an electric mobility expert and director at rating agency S&amp;P, told\u00a0<em>Rest of World<\/em>. \u201cThe state suffers from political instability, violence, and lack of peace \u2014 any company coming in will see all those things in the picture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Salal is located in the disputed and conflict-hit Kashmir region, near India\u2019s border with Pakistan. In the past two years, militant attacks have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/lead\/reasi-and-the-years-old-issue-of-cross-border-terror\/article68341431.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">intensified<\/a>\u00a0in the areas surrounding Salal. A local militant group\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/lithium-village-in-the-path-of-indias-electric-dreams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced it would attack<\/a>\u00a0any company that mined the lithium reserve, calling mining \u201cthe colonial exploitation and theft of resources of Jammu and Kashmir.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The village is situated on the Chenab River, part of a water-sharing treaty between India and Pakistan. Lithium mining is a resource-intensive process that heavily pollutes water and soil, affecting local residents, agriculture, and biodiversity. The region is also highly seismically active. \u201cThese factors make any industrial intervention in the area a complex and delicate undertaking,\u201d Priyadarshi said.<\/p>\n<p>Before putting the reserve up for auction again, the government will\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/economy\/after-setbacks-more-exploration-of-jk-lithium-block-likely-before-another-auction-9481675\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consider<\/a>\u00a0further exploration. Mining officials say that may take months or years. Thakur, the snack shop worker in Salal, is furious about the delay. He said he feels like his future is caught up in the uncertainty. He was planning to renovate the shop, but is now hesitant to invest in infrastructure that might be \u201cbulldozed the next day,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have been standing on the gallows \u2014 I feel like the lever can be pulled any day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Karan Singh, Thakur\u2019s 65-year-old uncle, lives with his mother in a well-furnished three-room house that sits over the mineral deposits. Before the discovery was announced, Singh had never heard of lithium. He said he spent many nights afterward dreaming of the family\u2019s reversed fortunes.<\/p>\n<p>Now, however, he welcomes the delay. He remembers growing up with clean air and water, amid \u201cthe natural beauty of my village,\u201d he told\u00a0<em>Rest of World<\/em>. Moving home at his age would be a difficult task, Singh said, and he is content for the lithium to remain in the ground so that he can\u00a0<span class=\"endmark\">stay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Thanks to : <a href=\"https:\/\/restofworld.org\/2024\/india-lithium-reserves-halted\/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-intl\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/restofworld.org\/2024\/india-lithium-reserves-halted\/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-intl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s ambitious lithium dreams have stalled Last year, India touted the discovery of a huge reserve of valuable lithium in Kashmir. Experts say optimism around the discovery was overblown. By\u00a0Yashraj Sharma 5 November 2024\u00a0\u2022 Salal, Kashmir In 2023, the Indian government announced a lithium reserve of 5.9 million metric tons in Kashmir. The government has &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/indias-ambitious-lithium-dreams-have-stalled\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;India\u2019s ambitious lithium dreams have stalled&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.6","language":"ta","enabled_languages":["en","ta"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ta":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2676"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2680,"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676\/revisions\/2680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beachmineral.com\/ta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}