Generally digging hole -> concentrate (in this case (Lithium) the concentrate is Spodumene) is a largely mechanical process - crushing, grinding, screening, centrifuge, seperation, etc and what's left behind is overburden and not of interest tailings - this is "regular mining problems" and these are not huge in todays regulated environment, post mining rehab is required and ideally pre mine eco systems come back.

Refinement of concentrates, particulalry of Rare Earths is generally where nasty chemicals come into play which requires tight processing and strong oversight to keep "clean" .. acids at end of re-re-re-use need to be nuetralised and processing areas need strong under-pan barriers to prevent spills leaching down to groundwater, tailings dams need to be strong, monitored, and regularly dealt with.

These are all things which are "all right" in theory and good practice .. but do require strong oversight and an educated third party invested public keep a close eye on transparent operations.

Bad things can happen otherwise.