Early Times Report
Jammu, July 24: Found over one and half years ago in the Salal area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, the Lithium block has not been successfully auctioned so far.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, the Minister of Coal and Mines, G K Reddy said that mining and production will be carried out once the block is successfully auctioned.
He that GSI has estimated an inferred resource (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore with an average grade of 583 ppm having a cutoff of Li ≥ 200 ppm within bauxite in the Salal and Haimna areas of Reasi district
He said that the central government had put the lithium block of Jammu & Kashmir for auction. “However, the auction was not successful. Only after the block is successfully auctioned, the lessee will carry out mining and subsequently production.
Important to mention here that the Geological Survey of India has for the first time established Lithium infe In a written reply in Lok Sabha, the Minister of Coal and Mines said that mining and production will be carried out once the block is auctioned.
The Geological Survey of India has for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district in February 2023.
“For the first time, lithium reserves have been discovered, and that too in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said at that time.
Upon exploration by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), lithium reserves have been found in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The lithium deposits are very critical for India as the government has been focussing on electric cars, especially in the metro cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and others.
Earlier, the mines ministry had said that to strengthen the critical mineral supply chain for emerging technologies, the government was taking several proactive measures to secure minerals, including lithium, from Australia and Argentina. Currently, India is import-dependent on many minerals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt. | 