"Pressure to approve new mines quickly could mean not enough time is allocated for consultation and impact assessment," said Helen Clark, the former New Zealand prime minister and chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Auto executives have warned that without local battery production, much of Britain's car industry could shift overseas.

The joint venture between China’s Tianqi and Australian miner IGO in May produced the nation’s first battery-grade lithium hydroxide at its refinery near Perth.

“That’s a country that has seen this need coming and made the most of it,” Resources Minister Madeleine King told Bloomberg News in an interview.

Mexico is looking to build five large solar plants, to help remodel car factories for electric vehicles and produce batteries and semiconductors in the state of Sonora.

S&P Global also said soaring prices of critical battery metals threaten the profit margins of suppliers and automakers.

Company backed by Glencore Plc has been at the heart of the UK’s ambition to build factories.