MYSURU: In view of research papers on the availability of lithium, a rare metal extensively used in the manufacture of batteries that go into cellphones, laptops and electric vehicles, Revenue officials of Mandya district conducted an inspection in villages around Srirangapatna in Mandya district.
Deputy Commissioner Venkatesh, along with other officials, visited Alapatna near Srirangapatna as there were reports of deposits across a few square kilometres. The authorities went around a few villages and are awaiting further reports from the Department of Atomic Energy and others.
He said that the research was carried out since the last thirty years in the area, and lithium reserves have been found near Mandya by researchers at the Atomic Minerals Directorate, a unit of India’s Atomic Energy Commission. The reserves have been estimated at 14,100 tonnes in a small patch of land surveyed in Mandya that was published in the Current Science journal.
However, economic viability has to be worked out. If viable, the exploration of lithium will help the country in a big way as the Indian automobile industry is heading towards electric mobility. Right now, the country is importing the mineral from Argentina and other countries to meet the requirement, he added.
If the material is not in large quantity, it would not help as the requirement is a lot and the mineral is available in large quantities only in a few other countries. “However, we should wait for the economic viability report and the deposits available to be submitted by the experts,” the DC said.