All resources are "scarce" at very low price points, below which most nations are unable or unwilling to extract them.

Lithium, rare earth metals, and a bunch of others are only "scarce" because right now China is the only country willing to put up with the pollution levels that the cheap, dirty version of their extraction produces.

Everything can be produced cleanly, safely, etc... but that comes at a price.

It's like when employers complain that "nobody wants to work". That needs to be translated to "nobody wants to work for the low wages I'm willing to pay".