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Tesla, Mitsubishi, Ola Electric eye India's lithium reserves

2023-05-31

Mitsubishi, Tesla and Ola Electric are among the top contenders to bid for lithium reserves found in India's Jammu and Kashmir region. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal widely used in manufacturing batteries for electronic items such as laptops, phones and pacemakers, and in glass and ceramics. It is an important growth driver due to its use in batteries for electric vehicles.

In March 2023, India's Minister of Coal, Pralhad Joshi, announced that lithium had been discovered in the northern federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Joshi told Reuters that "the exploitation of lithium will depend upon a successful auction of the mineral block." He added that the auction would be decided by Jammu and Kashmir authorities.

The block is estimated to hold reserves of 5.9 million tonnes and is the first known lithium reserve in the country. The minister announced in early May that the auction could take place as early as December this year.

Lithium is dubbed "white gold" due to its widespread use and could be a game-changer for the Indian economy and its contribution to the global market. A report in the publication also states that three unnamed firms are looking to source lithium requirements from India. It also highlighted that Elon Musk had stated in March that Tesla's focus was more on refining lithium than mining the metal. However, none of the named companies have commented on the report.

The same report states that the lithium reserves could meet 80% of India's demand.

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