Open this photo in gallery: Alumina is transformed into aluminium at the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter in Kitimat, B.C.Felipe Fittipaldi/Glode and Mail Critical minerals make the modern world work. Minerals such as copper, nickel, lithium, graphite and cobalt are the building blocks of renewable energy projects and electric vehicles. There is no energy transition without them. This is why The Globe and Mail has launched Mission Critical, a series of stories that looks at the issues around whether Canada can become a critical minerals mining superpower. Ottawa has big ambitions in clean technology and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants Canada…