In law change: a push for electric vehicles, less dependence on battery imports

Source: This post has been created based on the article “In law change: a push for electric vehicles, less dependence on battery imports” published in The Indian Express on 13^th October 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 1 Geography — Distribution of key natural resources across the world.
GS Paper 3 Indian Economy — Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

News: This article discusses the recent Govt decision regarding the announcement of new royalty rates for the mining of lithium, niobium, and rare earths. It elaborates the changes brought in and the potential impact these changes will have for the country.

What are the recent changes in mining policy of strategic minerals?

The Govt has specified lower royalty rates by amending the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 for 3 strategically significant minerals — lithium, niobium, and rare earth elements (REEs).

It has been brought down to align India’s royalty rates with global benchmarks.

Govt has also removed 6 minerals, including lithium and niobium, from the list of ‘specified’ atomic minerals.

This paves the way for commercial exploration of these minerals through auctions, which can be conducted by the Centre or states.

What is the importance of these minerals and current status of their mining and production?

Lithium

Properties: Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal.

Usage: Vital ingredient of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, laptops, and mobile phones.

Source: India currently imports all the lithium it needs. China is a major source.

In 2023, ‘inferred’ lithium resources of 5.9 mn tonnes were discovered in Jammu & Kashmir, the largest deposit in India. The domestic exploration push includes work to extract lithium from the brine pools of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the mica belts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Niobium

Properties: Niobium is a light grey, crystalline metal with a layer of oxide on its surface, which makes it resistant to corrosion.

Usage: It is used in alloys, including stainless steel, to improve their strength, particularly at low temperatures.
Alloys containing niobium are used in jet engines, beams and girders for buildings, and oil and gas pipelines.
Given its superconducting properties, it is also used in magnets for particle accelerators and MRI scanners.

Source: The main source of this element is the mineral columbite, which is found in countries such as Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Nigeria.

Rare Earth Elements (REEs)

Properties: REEs or rare earths are a group of 17 very similar lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals.

Usage: Rare earth compounds are used in electrical and electronic components, lasers, and magnetic materials.
In an EV, the rare earth elements are used in the motors and not the batteries. The magnets used in these motors are made with REEs such as neodymium, terbium, and dysprosium.

Source: Much of the worldwide production is either sourced from or processed in China.

Challenges: REEs are typically mined by digging vast open pits, which can contaminate the environment and disrupt ecosystems.
When poorly regulated, mining can produce waste-water ponds filled with acids, heavy metals, and radioactive material that might seep into groundwater.

What will be the impact of these changes in mining policy?

1) Encourage domestic mining.

2) Imports of these minerals can be lowered.

3) Related end-use industries such as electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage solutions can be set up.

4) This will help India to meet its commitment to energy transition, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.