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Factories can be relocated, mines cannot.

• glitchc 4y ago
  If it were so simple then oil refineries would exist everywhere, yet they don't. This suggests that major investments in refining infrastructure pays huge dividends for the nation.
  • comte7092 4y ago
    Oil refineries exist where they do largely as a function of technical complexity and shipping costs (ie pipeline infrastructure). Just because it’s called “refining” doesn’t mean that lithium refining is anywhere near as complex as oil refining. The component of the oil analogy that does correlate is the fact that oil refineries are generally situated close to where the end products are consumed. Which in the case of lithium is batteries, the production of which is indeed largely sited in China as well. That is to say, China doesn’t control the supply of lithium, rather they control the supply chain of lithium based goods. That may seem like a minor difference, but the resolution to that is categorically different. Of note: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/tesla-lithium-refinery-texas-expansion-17815692.php https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/tesla-lith...