Large reserves of lithium have been discovered in the Degana municipality of Nagaur district in Rajasthan, according to officials of the Rajasthan government and the Geological Survey of India (GSI). 

It is being estimated that the reserves found in Rajasthan have a much higher capacity of lithium than the estimated 5.9 million tonnes of the metal found recently in Jammu & Kashmir.

Importance of lithium

• Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in batteries of electric vehicles.

• Lithium has a range of uses in both chemical and technical applications. Lithium in various forms, such as lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and lithium chloride, is used in lubricant greases, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, air treatment and, particularly, in batteries — both non-rechargeable (primary) lithium metal batteries and rechargeable (secondary) lithium-ion batteries.

• Being the lightest known metal, lithium is also used in alloys to increase strength-to-weight ratios, taking advantage of lithium’s tensile strength and lightweight (low-density) characteristics. Aluminium-lithium alloys, for example, are used in the aerospace and motorsport industries.

• In 2010, ceramics and glass accounted for the largest share of lithium consumption. In ceramics and glassware, lithium carbonate increases strength and reduces thermal expansion, which is often essential for modern glass-ceramic cooktops.

• Lithium resources occur in two distinct categories — lithium minerals, largely from the mineral spodumene, and salts, largely from lithium-rich brines in salt lakes. Canada, China and Australia have significant resources of lithium minerals, while lithium brine is produced predominantly in Chile, followed by Argentina

• Lithium is often dubbed as “white gold” for electric vehicles.

• It plays a key role in the cathodes of all types of lithium-ion batteries that power EVs. Accordingly, the recent rise in EV adoption has sent lithium production to new highs.

• Lithium-ion batteries can power any electrical application without the need of physical wires.

• In 2019, three researchers won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for the development of lithium-ion batteries, paving the way for smartphones and a fossil fuel-free society.

• Global lithium production surpassed 100,000 tonnes for the first time in 2021, quadrupling from 2010. What’s more, roughly 90 per cent of it came from just three countries. Australia alone produces 52 per cent of the world’s lithium, followed by Chile and China.

The Geological Survey of India

• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways. Over the years, GSI has not only grown into a repository of geo-science information required in various fields in the country but has also attained the status of a geo-scientific organisation of international repute. 

• Its main functions relate to creating and updating of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment. These objectives are achieved through ground surveys, air-borne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting and investigations, multi-disciplinary geoscientific, geo-technical, geo-environmental and natural hazards studies, glaciology, seismotectonic study and carrying out fundamental research.

• GSI’s core competence in survey and mapping is continuously enhanced through accretion, management, coordination and utilisation of spatial databases (including those acquired through remote sensing). 

• GSI uses the latest computer-based technologies for dissemination of geoscientific information and spatial data, through cooperation and collaboration with other stakeholders in the geo-informatics sector.

• Headquartered in Kolkata, GSI is an attached office to the ministry of mines and has regional offices in Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Shillong. GSI also has unit offices in almost all states of the country.

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