Correct the mining itself isn’t too terrible. But is it not likely a local refinery will follow? I don’t think shipping ore to Australia or Malaysia will be cost effective.
However, given the regulatory environment in the US surrounding refinement, there is likely a huge opportunity for innovation in this space.
The only reason we don't want to rely on China is geopolitical. Besides that everyone would be happy to have China take the pollution it takes for the rest of the world to transition to electricity.