# Supply Concentration (C)

How concentrated world supply is among producing countries. C runs from 0 to 100: a high reading means a few countries, often just one, hold most mine and refining output, so a single export decision can move the market.

Source: https://www.stockatomics.com/research/supply-concentration

## What it measures

**Supply concentration** looks at the share of global mine and refining output held by the top producing countries. It is rated on a five-point scale from those shares and converted to a 0–100 scale: a mineral mined across many countries sits low, while one where a single country controls most of the refining sits at the top, whatever the size of the market.

Concentration isn’t the same as scarcity: concentrated supply can still be plentiful. What it measures is exposure to a single decision or event, such as an export quota, a licensing regime or a disruption in one place.

## The five levels

C comes from a 1–5 rating, so it takes five values.

- 100: One country holds most supply
- 75
- 50
- 25
- 0: Supply spread widely

## A model input

C isn’t a headline score, but it feeds the scores that are.

C is part of the company scores: **Supply leverage** (SLS) is a company’s output share × SES × C, and **[CMCS](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/company-exposure)** is output share × SES × demand pressure × C. In the Terminal, you can also sort the Critical Minerals page by it. Read it alongside **[SES](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/supply-elasticity)**: a concentrated mineral whose supply responds quickly is less of a risk than one whose supply can’t.

## Today’s readings

Minerals by rating, the most concentrated first, in the Stockatomics Terminal.

In the Stockatomics Terminal (https://www.stockatomics.com/terminal/research/supply-concentration, sign-in required):

- Most concentrated minerals: Every mineral’s C, the most concentrated first, with its top producing country.
- Minerals at each level: How many minerals sit at each of the five levels.

## FAQ

### What is supply concentration (C)?

How concentrated a critical mineral’s world supply is among producing countries. C runs from 0 to 100: a high reading means a few countries, often just one, hold most mine and refining output, so a single export decision can move the market.

### Is a concentrated mineral a scarce one?

Not necessarily. Concentration isn’t the same as scarcity: concentrated supply can still be plentiful. What it measures is exposure to a single decision or event, such as an export quota, a licensing regime or a disruption in one place.

## More research

The full method is set out in [our research paper](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/constraint-transmission-framework).

- [The Stockatomics Model](https://www.stockatomics.com/research): what Stockatomics measures and where the data comes from.
- [Supply Elasticity (SES)](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/supply-elasticity): How hard it is for supply to respond when demand rises.
- [Demand Momentum (DM)](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/demand-momentum): The demand growth a mineral inherits from the sectors that use it.
- [Company Exposure (CMCS)](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/company-exposure): How much of a listed company’s output is in constrained, concentrated, fast-growing minerals.
- [Benchmark Prices](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/benchmark-prices): The monthly price per kg contained, for every critical mineral.
- [Stock vs Mineral Performance](https://www.stockatomics.com/research/stock-vs-mineral): How listed companies performed against their minerals’ benchmark prices.
- [AI Infrastructure Index](https://www.stockatomics.com/ai-infrastructure-index): What the hardware behind AI costs, month by month.