Everybody's heard of the controversy over lithium supplies, which are a key component of the lithium-ion battery packs going into EVs. Lithium deposits are concentrated in just a few mostly non-western countries (China, Bolivia, Chile). Most experts think there's enough lithium for the foreseeable future, though some of it is in countries hostile to the U.S. (including, as we've recently discovered, Afghanistan). But there is growing concern over another key raw material for the electric car -- rare earth minerals.