- Researchers at the Atomic Minerals Directorate have estimated lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in a small area of land surveyed in the southern Karnataka district
- India currently imports all its lithium requirements
According to a report by the Economic Times, reserves of lithium, a rare metal crucial for EVs, have been found in Mandya, located 100 km from Bengaluru. The report added that according to a paper to be published in the forthcoming issue of journal Current Science, researchers at the Atomic Minerals Directorate, a unit of India’s Atomic Energy Commission have estimated lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in a small area of land surveyed in the southern Karnataka district.
14,100 tonnes of lithium metal
As per the ET report, N Munichandraiah, emeritus professor at the Indian Institute of Science and an expert on battery technologies said that the present data provide a total estimation of available Li2O as about 30,300 tonnes spread over an area of 0.5 km x 5 km. This works out to be about 14,100 tonnes of lithium metal.
He added that if one compares with 8.6 million tonnes in Chile, 2.8 million tonnes in Australia, 1.7 million tonnes in Argentina or 60,000 tonnes in Portugal, this quantity is not large. As per the report, lead author of the paper, PV Thirupathi has nor responded to mails seeking comment.
