The Indian Ministry of Mines announced the discovery of one of the world's largest lithium deposits in the Jammu and Kashmir region, the reserves of which are estimated at 5.9 million tons, mining-technology.com reported on Thursday.
This makes India the country with the fifth largest reserves of this metal in the world. Lithium is indispensable in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, solar panels and various gadgets.
The discovery could potentially shake the market dominance of the world's three largest miners of this metal - Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, the newspaper notes. Lithium demand is projected to increase 6 times between 2021 and 2040.
Recall that earlier the European Commission announced the creation, together with India, of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) to strengthen relations between Brussels and New Delhi as strategic partners. The parties, among other things, intend to cooperate in the field of communications, "green" technologies and sustainability of supply chains.