Critical material supply is subject to shocks due to heavily concentrated supply, warned the International Renewable Energy Agency in a report published today.
"Today, the mining of critical materials is highly concentrated in specific geographical locations. Australia , China , Chile , the Democratic Republic of Congo , Indonesia and South Africa are the dominant players. Processing is even more geographically concentrated, with China accounting for more than 50% of the world’s refined supply of graphite, dysprosium , cobalt, lithium, and manganese," wrote the report authors.