I would assume recrystalizing isn't the same as generating new dilithium for additional starships. And without dilithium, there wouldn't be a power source of this type.
We are basically just discussing super steel. The quantity may be limited, but once you build a ship with it the ship doesn't need any more.
What we were discussing is power generation. The Federation uses antimatter for that and apparently society is advanced enough to harness and black holes as a power source. Relatively, the Dyson sphere to them is simply to costly to use. Which is probably why Riker had never heard of it.
I would assume recrystalizing isn't the same as generating new dilithium for additional starships. And without dilithium, there wouldn't be a power source of this type.
And that is a separate issue.
We are basically just discussing super steel. The quantity may be limited, but once you build a ship with it the ship doesn't need any more.
What we were discussing is power generation. The Federation uses antimatter for that and apparently society is advanced enough to harness and black holes as a power source. Relatively, the Dyson sphere to them is simply to costly to use. Which is probably why Riker had never heard of it.
In order to expand the fleet and build more warp coils they would need to find additional supplies of dilithium.