Rio minerals boss compares lithium to diamonds

According to The Australian Financial Review, the Rio Tinto executive charged with developing its lithium assets says critical minerals are becoming diamond-like in terms of the focus on provenance.
Rio Tinto minerals chief executive Sinead Kaufman said “One part of the portfolio for me in Rio Tinto is diamonds, and so we have done a lot of work over the years on the provenance and sustainability of diamonds and where they have come from.
Rio would move downstream in lithium because it was unrealistic to simply mine and sell the key battery ingredient as a bulk commodity.
“I feel like you have to go downstream to be able to understand fully the value of the product and also understand the needs of your customer. How far downstream will depend greatly on different jurisdictions and different countries,” she said.

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/rio-minerals-boss-compares-lithium-to-diamonds-20220928-p5blng