Australia wants lithium processed here but miners say numbers don't add up - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australia possesses substantial lithium ore reserves but lacks integrated downstream processing capacity; this article signals that transitioning to domestic refining faces structural cost barriers, not merely policy barriers. If processing remains uneconomical domestically, Australia risks remaining a raw-commodity exporter to China rather than achieving strategic control over the critical-mineral supply chain, undermining Pillar 1 (Resource Sovereignty) and Pillar 5 (Decoupling).