India's Lithium Discovery May Have Come 26 Years Sooner If...
NDTV
Almost 26 years ago, the Geological Survey of India submitted a detailed report about the presence of lithium in the same area, in Jammu and Kashmir's Salal. But there seems to have been no meaningful follow-up until now.
The much-celebrated announcement by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) this week that it has found huge lithium deposits in Jammu and Kashmir may have come more than two decades sooner had it not been for what appears to be a lethal dose of inertia and oversight.
Almost 26 years ago, the GSI submitted a detailed report about the presence of lithium in the same area, in the union territory's Salal. But there seems to have been no meaningful follow-up until now.
"Geological Survey of India, for the first time, established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir," a statement from the Ministry of Mines said on Tuesday.
"Inferred" refers to the lowest of three levels of confidence in the estimation of a mineral deposit, under "indicated" and "measured".