🌱 How and where is lithium currently being mined?
Lithium is a key component in the production of electric vehicle batteries. The largest reservoirs of lithium are currently found in Argentina, Australia, and Chile. Lithium is extracted from hard rocks and underground brine reservoirs. The extraction process notably requires large amounts of water, which poses a particular problem in Argentina due to the water scarcity in the regions where the mining occurs.
🌱 What impact is the recent discovery of lithium in India expected to have?
A few weeks ago, India's Mines Ministry announced that reserves with 5.9 million tonnes of lithium were found in Jammu and Kashmir. Up until now, India has been dependent on Argentina and Australia for lithium. The discovery is anticipated to reduce prices of both lithium batteries and electric vehicles and “to help India in promoting e-mobility and achieving its net zero goals”. Experts have said “that the discovery could aid India's push to increase the number of private electric cars by 30% by 2030”. Moreover, with the discovery, India hopes to become a global exporter and supplier of electric vehicles and their components.
🌱 What has been happening in lithium and battery markets recently?
The World Bank has projected that to meet global climate targets the “mining of [critical] minerals will need to increase by 500% […] by 2050”. Earlier this year, in the race to secure resources, “China signed a $1bn (£807m) deal to develop Bolivia's vast lithium reserves, which are estimated at 21m tonnes and the largest in the world”. In light of the recent geopolitics, particularly the USA has been “pushing to grow domestic battery production in an effort to break China’s hold on the market”. The EU has also taken a number of steps to secure critical resources in Europe and to increase domestic battery production.
🌱 What is the significance of the discovery for India and global markets?
Similarly to the EU and USA, India has recently been “re-orienting its exploration measures” in an effort to improve its supply of rare minerals and metals needed for the energy transition. The discovery of domestic lithium reserves “could help India in achieving [the energy] transition with [more] confidence, control and competitiveness”. Currently, the market for lithium is largely controlled by China. If “India emerges as a country having high quality and quantity lithium resources”, this could lead to a significant shift in international markets and lithium prices.
Read more about the value of e-waste here:
- https://www.rts.com/blog/the-complete-e-waste-recycling-process/
Read more about the lithium reserves here: