Parliament passes law to auction and mining of lithium reserves & other minerals

India’s parliament has approved a new law aimed at accelerating the extraction of critical minerals, including lithium, essential for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The legislation permits the government to auction and mine the recently discovered reserves of these minerals, marking a significant step towards meeting the rising demand for EV raw materials. The law removes lithium and other minerals from the list of atomic minerals, which previously restricted their auctioning and mining to state-run companies. With this amendment, private sector participation in the exploration and mining of these minerals becomes possible, which is expected to lead to a substantial increase in mining activities within the country. “>WATCH: Lithium Reserves Discovered in Rajasthan, Potential to Meet 80% of India’s Demand

“Upon removal of these minerals from the list of atomic minerals, exploration and mining of these minerals will be open to the private sector," a government statement said. As a result, exploration and mining of these minerals is expected to increase significantly in the country," the statement said. Lithium reserves were discovered earlier this year in the federally administered region of Jammu and Kashmir, and the government has said it hopes to find more reserves later this year. Other minerals that will now be open for mining and auction include titanium, beryl, niobium and zirconium, the statement said. These minerals were earlier only allowed to be mined by state-run companies, which meant that they were mined in limited quantities, and the involvement of private companies could be a ‘force multiplier’, the statement said. “There is a need to vigorously increase exploration and production of the minerals proposed to be removed from the list of atomic minerals to meet the growing demands of the country,” the statement said. With inputs from Reuters.