Critical minerals are the new oil. Everyone is after some long-term supply—except China, which has spent years building supply chains around the world to emerge as the single largest supplier and processor of those minerals. The U.S. and Europe are in a rush to catch up, and they are looking north to do that. Earlier this month, the European Union decided it needed to start stockpiling critical minerals to avoid a shortage in case China squeezed supply. Some saw this as too little, too late, but the EU’s decision once again put in the…