Relying on foreign allies for critical minerals supply instead of mining domestically would be an “irresponsible” and “dangerous” policy for the Biden administration to pursue, a top lithium executive says.

“That’s a false choice. We need to have both. We need to have production, and we need to have processing in the United States,” James Calaway, who is the chairman of the board of lithium mining company Ioneer, told the Washington Examiner. “Those go together, and that’s the most environmentally friendly way to do it.”