China have spodumene refining capacity. They are adept at going...

China have spodumene refining capacity.  They are adept at going around the planet gathering whatever they need to fulfil spare refining capacity when it is profitable.  If the sources become unprofitable they will drop them, ala Galaxy v.1.  There are no loyalties.



USGS.

"Resource.—A concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous material in or on the Earth’s crust in such form and amount that economic extraction of a commodity from the concentration is currently or potentially feasible."

"Reserves.—That part of the reserve base which could be economically extracted or produced at the time of determination. The term reserves need not signify that extraction facilities are in place and operative. Reserves include only recoverable materials; thus, terms such as “extractable reserves” and “recoverable reserves” are redundant and are not a part of this classification system."