This is a surprisingly comprehensive and well-written article, worth reading. For example, the authors note that the majority of Australia's lithium ore is refined to metal in China, although there's a push for local Australian refining. For more details on the current state of lithium battery production globally, this is good:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31850-y

(Jul 2022) "Tracing the origin of lithium in Li-ion batteries using lithium isotopes", Desaulty et al.

This in particular is interesting, using a blockchain to track sourcing:

> "Major car manufacturers like BMW group, Tesla, and Volvo recently announced that they will increase the transparency of their supply chains for EV batteries, and ensure responsible and sustainable sourcing of raw materials. Some companies (BASF, Volkswagen, Fairphone) have started a partnership for sustainable lithium mining in Chile. Carmakers also explore the usefulness of blockchains for improving the scrutiny of supply chains. A blockchain is the control of chain-of-custody systems, based on the shipping documentation that is included in online databases, to allow real-time raw materials tracking and electronic tagging. However, document-based traceability systems can be falsified, and must be independently controlled and audited to provide credibility."