Say Lithium becomes essentially free because we find so much of it…would that drastically lower battery costs? Is our current supply of lithium limiting production?
Is sand essentially free because we have beaches and deserts full of it? It can be used to make concrete, a valuable material? (Don't forget the shipping, storage, and refining costs)
Not the greatest analogy since the sand found in deserts isn't used for making concrete (wind-blown sand is too rounded/smooth), and there's actually a global shortage of the appropriate (alluvial, iirc) type.