The 13 Atoms: 8 Cross-Pillar Chokepoints + 6-Stage Rare Earth Chain
Shared upstream chokepoints, divergent downstream processing — color = China control level
CHINA CONTROLS
Mining
85%
Separation
90%
Oxide refining
95%
Nd metal
95%
Dy/Tb processing
98%
MREC alloys
95%
NdFeB magnets
85%
Gallium
96%
Germanium
90%
Indium
80%
Hi-purity phosphorus
90%
InP wafers
70%
Tantalum
60%
Export-gated since 2023
6-STAGE RARE EARTH CHAIN
Rare Earth Ore
RE Separation
Rare Earth Oxide
Neodymium Metal
Dysprosium / Tb
MREC Alloys
NdFeB Magnets
Gallium
Germanium
Indium
Hi-Purity Phosphorus
InP Wafers
Tantalum
8 CROSS-PILLAR ATOMS
SERVES PILLARS
AI
Gallium · Germanium
Indium · InP Wafers
Tantalum · RE ore
Data center + edge AI
DEFENSE
All 13 atoms
Magnets · Gallium · Ge
Tantalum · InP
NDAA forced-buyer 2027
ENERGY
NdFeB magnets
RE chain · Gallium
Hi-purity phosphorus
Wind turbines · EVs
ROBOTICS
NdFeB magnets
RE chain · Gallium
Germanium · Indium
Actuators · sensors
4-HOP CASCADE REACH
781
companies
$55T
market cap
4
pillars
Control level:
85%+ (red)
60–84% (amber)
<60% (blue)
Sources: USGS, SEMI, SMM, ForcedAlpha graph
13 Atoms Meta-Casefile
· ForcedAlpha Supply Chain Intelligence Graph · forcedalpha.com