India is set to auction a lithium bloc found last month in the country’s north, Mines Minister Joshi said in parliament on Monday. The block, with estimated reserves of 5.9 million tonnes, is the first known lithium reserve in the country. “The exploitation of lithium will depend upon successful auction of the mineral block,” Joshi said, adding the timeline for an auction would be decided by Jammu and Kashmir authorities.

Around 5.9 million tons of the battery metal were found on Feb.9 in India’s north, following deep drilling by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in the area. It is a core component in batteries, which the electrification of the world depends heavily on.

“The presence of the lithium in the area was known to us since 1999,” government officials said.

The officials added that two geologists had suggested exploring the bauxite rock to assess the quality of the lithium deposits. But there wasn’t enough demand previously to make this economically viable.

However, the boom in electric vehicles changed everything, sending the demand for lithium skywards.

Lithium found in India is technically in the ‘inferred’ category, which means further tests are needed to check its quality. But the officials claim the lithium found in the region is almost three times better than normal grade lithium.

If the country’s hopes are realized, it stands to hold the fifth-largest lithium reserves in the world.