Dear Editor,
No doubt recent discovery of 5.9 million tonnes inferred resources of lithium (Li) in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir, by the Geological Survey of India has been received as a game-changer in India’s impending transition to a green economy but the environmental affect from the mining is inevitable according to environmentalist. Extracting Li entails open-pit-mining followed by roasting the ore using fossil fuels which consumes 170 cubic metres of water & releases 15 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of Li extracted. This depletes and contaminates waterways and groundwater, diminishes biodiversity, and releases considerable air pollution. Even the Himalaya (which is the youngest mountain range in the world) becomes much more unstable. Incidents of land sinking will also be reported if mining is carried out.
VijayKumar H K
[email protected]
Raichur, Karnataka
Environmentalist
