They say that every revolution begins from the ground up. The transition to clean energy is demonstrating that quite literally. The batteries powering the future are being constructed on the backbone of what we extract beneath the earth’s surface.

Mining is where it all starts. Miners in effect dig up metals — lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite — that are the basis of each electric vehicle and energy-storage cell. Refining provides those raw ores with their true identity. It transforms dispersed mineral wealth into pure battery chemicals that manufacturers can finally utilize.

Together, mining and refining build the unseen foundation of the battery economy. Each lithium-ion cell, each cathode and anode, each gigafactory exists because of this chain. Without domestic capacity in th

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