New Lithium Deposits in Karnataka

The Government of India has informed that the preliminary surveys have shown the presence of lithium deposits in Karnataka. This was said by the government in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

Key Points

• Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) conducted a survey on the surface and limited subsurface in the pegmatites of the Marlagalla – Allapatna area.
• AMD is a constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy.
• As per the initial results of the survey, there is a presence of 1,600 tonnes in the Mandya district of Karnataka.
• Lithium is a major element for new technologies and finds its use in glass, ceramics, aerospace, and telecommunication industries.
• Lithium is well known for its use in lithium-ion batteries, optical modulators for mobile phones, high energy additives to rocket propellants, lubricating grease, and as a converter to tritium used as a raw material for thermonuclear reactions i.e. fusion.
• The requirement for lithium is continuously increasing due to an increase in the demand for lithium-ion batteries.
• The presence of lithium in Karnataka’s Mandya district is a good sign for the country.
• However, the correct quantity of lithium resources and its significance in the Marlagalla – Allapatna area, Mandya district, Karnataka can be explained after the completion of exploration in the entire area.

Last year, India signed an agreement with an Argentinian firm to jointly prospect lithium in the South American nation having 17 million tonnes of lithium metal reserves. The agreement was signed by Khanij Bidesh India Limited.