Processing is the real nasty process:
The common environmental side effects of lithium mining are water loss, ground destabilization, biodiversity loss, increased salinity of rivers, contaminated soil and toxic waste.
After the brine is pumped out from underneath the salt flat, it is left to evaporate through a series of ponds for 12–18 months, forming a mixture of potassium, magnesium, borax and lithium salts. For a ton of lithium, over 1 million gallons of water are required. The majority of this is lost to the sky in evaporation .
So for the locals lithium extraction inevitably harms the soil and causes air contamination and and diverts scarce water resources away from local communities.
Food for thought when considering how "green" an EV actually is.
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