Looking for Lithium: from rocks in Rajasthan to laboratories in Western Australia
About this episode
This episode discusses India's lithium demand and the exploration of pegmatites in Rajasthan as part of a research partnership with CSIRO.
Electric vehicles are the future. But here's the problem: India's lithium demand is skyrocketing, but the local supply is nearly zero. Enter pegmatites: fancy, crystal-studded rocks hiding in the Rajasthan desert that might just hold the key to India's battery revolution.Today we're back with Dr Louise Schoneveld and Dr Mario Iglesias-Martinez from CSIRO to tell the complete story of the CSIRO's Australia-India research partnership on critical metals, centering here on lithium exploration. And boy we cover it all. From fieldwork in India's desert landscape to the analytical work happening in Western Australian laboratories, it's a tale involving unexpected geological encounters, shepherd guides, sparkly purple minerals, and the kind of detective work that makes the journey from field to lab the best kind of science.From pegmatite formation theory (yes, there's a debate, of course!) to the geochemistry that helps you sort the lithium-rich rocks from lithium-poor ones, this episode digs into what happens when you find a promising rock in Rajasthan and bring it home to Australia for detailed analysis, and its all part of a larger collaboration to tackle a global supply chain…
More episodes of Wonder
- Exploring for critical chromium, from the ground up (to space!)
- Carbonatites: to REE or not to REE?
- This critical metal is only found in mine waste? Dr Olivia Mejias Gonzalez on indium...
- The Australia-India Partnership: CSIRO on Critical Minerals Exploration Across Continents
- Shared origins for the Yilgarn's precious metals?
- Why the Earth's surface yo-yos: Dr Mark Hoggard on the flowing mantle
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Wonder podcast page.