I toured an abandoned nickle mine Nevada. It shut down because the price of nickle was too cheap, not because they ran out of nickle.<br><br>As for cobalt, please tell me any industry where using child labor is more efficient than modern machine methods. ie., it does not have to be that way. Congo is a f**ked up country.<br><br>For lithium mining, the reason Australia is becoming more important is because Bolivia and Chile both have issues with inefficient mining practices and socialism.<br><br>Finally, I have been to a refinery. Making gas, and drilling for it, is an incredibly dirty process. Apples and oranges and all that.