This is usually about cobalt in the Congo but the majority of EVs today, and almost all Electric Boats, have lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries that are COBALT FREE! Cobalt IS needed for your smartphone, tablets, and gasoline processing. Not to mention the kids making your phones, clothes, shoes, etc in poor working conditions. In terms of lithium, it’s a conflict-free material. The largest lithium resources in the world are in Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, the United States, and Australia in that order. The extraction method is much less invasive than typical strip mining or drilling for oil. The lithium is pumped out in a brine into a huge field, the moisture evaporates using the sun, and heavy machinery is used to pick it up and process it. No kids involved. :-) There is some strip mining for extraction like coal/iron that is performed in Australia and soon in Thacker Pass, USA.