The Beiruter

Critical-mineral reserves promise protection against supply shocks, but choosing which materials to hold, in what form and in what quantities is far more complicated than stockpiling oil.

Morocco controls 70% of the world’s phosphate, an irreplaceable mineral which the future of agriculture and green energy depends on, as American and Chinese reserves are slowly depleted. China has spent the past decade deepening investments and moving manufacturing to the country — is the United States now realizing the need to follow suit?