The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has reported an inferred lithium resource of around 5.9 million tonnes at Salal-Haimna in Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir, and this is the figure most often quoted when lithium deposits in India are discussed. Not a single tonne of it has been mined so far, as the block has failed twice at auction.
As per the Mines Ministry, the Reasi block was explored only up to the G3 stage which is a preliminary level of resource assessment. Such a stage tells investors that lithium is probably present in the ground, but it does not confirm how much can actually be extracted.
A resource estimate of this kind is therefore not a mine and the two are separated by years of further work.
Two failed auctions and one success
The first auction for the Reasi block, held in November 2023, was annulled because fewer than three bidders had qualified. A second auction was also annulled, as no bidder qualified, and the ministry cited inadequate qualification of the bidders.
The Katghora block in Chhattisgarh is the only lithium block auctioned successfully in the country so far. Its resource is less than one tenth of the size of the block in Jammu and Kashmir.
The rules behind the auctions
The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023 came into effect on 17 August 2023. Under it, the Centre alone auctions the mining leases for critical minerals such as lithium and the state governments do not conduct these auctions.
Through the same amendment, lithium bearing minerals were removed from the Part-B list of atomic minerals. As a result, the exploration and mining of these minerals have been opened to private companies, which earlier was not the case.
The re-auction of the Reasi block was targeted about six months after the October 2024 order, and the block has remained without a mine until now.
