Australian mines 'cleanest and greenest in the world'

Jonathan Wilkinson (left), Rio's Jerome Pecresse (c) and BHP's Rag Udd at the Toronto convention. (HANDOUT/BHP)

Imagine being able to know the source of every nut, bolt and panel in an electric car or rooftop solar to choose best-practice Aussie production over forced labour or environmental harm.

Australia may be a top source of many critical minerals and rare earths but China has a stranglehold on factory-ready materials and is bankrolling Indonesia to flood the market with cheap nickel.