According to a report published in the Indian Express, preliminary surveys by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) are learnt to have shown the presence of 1,600 tonnes of lithium resources in the igneous rocks of the Marlagalla-Allapatna region of Karnataka’s Mandya district.
- AMD is an arm of the Department of Atomic Energy.
- Lithium ion is a vital ingredient of the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and mobile phones.
- Lithium is a rare element not usually found in India and currently imports all its needs.
- The find in Mandya is extremely small in quantitative terms, but it marks some initial success in the attempt to domestically mine the silver-white metal by way of hard-rock extraction of the ore.
- The Marlagalla-Allapatna area, along the Nagamangala Schist Belt is seen as among the most promising geological domains for potential exploration for lithium and other rare metals.
- Lithium can be extracted in different ways, depending on the type of the deposit – it is generally done either through solar evaporation of large brine pools or by hard-rock extraction of the ore.
- Australia is by far the world’s top producer of lithium, with an output of 42,000 tonnes in 2019. Chile is at second position. While it is the world’s top producer, Australia has only the fifth-largest known reserves of lithium in the world.
- Continued exploration efforts have seen global lithium-reserve estimates climb to 80 million tonnes – a significant proportion of which are located in South America’s “lithium triangle” – an area encompassing parts of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.
(Source: Indian Express)
CLICK HERE FOR UPSC PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ
