Kolkata: The Coal and Mines minister G Kishan Reddy said on Tuesday that India hopefully will be able to meet the demand for critical minerals, such as lithium, from within the country in three-four years.
The minister was in Kolkata attending events such as the celebrations of 175 years of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and 124th AGM of Bharat Chamber of Commerce. Reddy told reporters the National Critical Mineral Mission is aimed at boosting mining of minerals like lithium.
“We need lithium for batteries of mobile phones and for solar panels. In the next three-four years, we are hopeful that we can meet the demand for critical minerals like lithium from within the country and it will be of great help,” he said.
The minister is learnt to have confirmed that approval has come for spending
“Rs 32,000 crore for the critical mineral mission”. He said GSI is playing an important role in meeting the objectives of the National Critical Mineral Mission. It will help India achieve the top spot in mineral exploration by 2047 to realise the mission of ‘Viksit Bharat’, he said.
Reddy said the GSI is working in collaboration with Argentina on five Lithium blocks in the Latin American country.
“Not only exploration of minerals, GSI has played a critical role in dam construction, tunnelling, preserving heritage and disaster preparedness,” he said.
The minister launched two new digital initiatives, including a Field Data Acquisition App and the Geo-heritage App ‘Bhuvirasat’, aimed at enhancing data collection and promoting geo-heritage awareness.
A special publication on ‘Gondwana Basins on the Indian sub-continent’ unveiling of a special cover by India Post to commemorate the occasion relating to GSI.