The discovery of huge lithium deposits within the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir, hailed as a win for the nation’s clear power transition, comes at a value for communities within the Himalayan area, say villagers and environmental scientists.

Often known as “white gold,” the metallic is a key part in lithium-ion storage batteries, that are essential for electric vehicles as a result of they’re weight-for-weight much more environment friendly than the generally used lead-acid or nickel-metal hydride batteries.

The announcement in February of lithium deposits within the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, estimated at 5.9 million metric tons, was welcome in a rustic dedicated to transitioning away from fossil fuels. India beforehand needed to depend on lithium imports from nations akin to Australia and Argentina.

However, it comes amid reported subsidence of the Himalayan panorama triggered by the heavy equipment used to construct dams and highways, elevating considerations of additional environmental injury.

“Use of heavy machinery for drilling and earth-cutting in the sensitive Himalayan region has been largely responsible for subsidence in Joshimath town,” says SP Sati, who teaches environmental science on the College of Forestry, Ranichauri within the adjoining Himalayan state of Uttarakhand the place the subsidence has been devastating in latest months.

The residents of Reasi acknowledge the financial alternatives the lithium reserves can carry, but in addition the dangers, as sinking homes pressure many to evacuate their houses to safer areas.

“When we first came to know about the discovery of huge lithium reserves just adjacent to our village, we were happy that it will bring us prosperity. But we now hear that when the extraction takes place, it can prove hazardous for us and our water and land,” says Balbir Singh of Salal village which sits on the lithium deposits.

“Even if we get some compensation for dislocation from our village, the thought of leaving the homes we have lived in for generations makes us very sad,” Singh says.

Mohinder Singh Sarpanch, head of the village of Salal, says the village needs to be compensated for the impacts of mining of their neighborhood. “So far, we have not been officially asked to vacate our village. If residents from the entire area are required to vacate, then over 500 families will get affected,” Sarpanch says.

“It is not only about dislocation; there will be pollution which we will have to bear if we are relocated to a nearby area. If we are asked to give these sacrifices for the country, the government has to think about us,” Sarpanch provides.

It is just not clear when the Indian authorities is planning to begin lithium extraction, however specialists say it may very well be years earlier than industrial mining operations start.

“So far, only the primary resource calculation has been done. There are two more steps before we are sure about the exploitable resources and whether we will go for mining or not… it will take several years for the resources to be mined,” says Pankaj Srivastava, a professor who focuses on mineral exploration on the division of geology, University of Jammu.

India would wish to accumulate particular applied sciences for mining and refining lithium, he added.

According to Siddharth Goel, a senior coverage advisor on the International Institute for Sustainable Development with expertise within the fields of setting, power and sustainable transport, lithium mine growth can take 10 years or extra. “However, it’s possible that India fast-tracks approvals and permits to reduce the time taken, given the critical importance of lithium in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries,” he says.

S S Verma, a professor on the division of physics at Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, in Longowal, Punjab state, says that India has a protracted historical past of working mines and lithium mining is just not troublesome, “but refining is (evidently) difficult.”

Independent environmental influence assessments needs to be carried out earlier than mining begins, given the delicate ecology of the Himalayas, says Goel.

“Ensuring an environmentally friendly mining process is also essential to attract investment from large international companies given the growing global scrutiny of the battery value chain’s environmental footprint,” he provides.

Shakil Romshoo, senior professor in Kashmir University’s division of earth sciences, says, “The discovery of lithium in the country is a big development as India aggressively pursues clean energy production. But considering the significant environmental impacts of lithium extraction, environment-friendly exploration technology will be needed whenever this resource is exploited.”

Lithium mining has sparked protests all over the world lately. According to a study revealed February in Nature, ecosystems within the neighborhood of lithium deposits are “extremely fragile and linked in a food chain in which ecosystem services are crucial for livestock and rural populations.”