From the mine, to the machine, to the market. Every number here starts somewhere real: a raw material, a factory that can only go so fast, or a listed company. And every number tells you where it came from.
The one to watch right now. AI need , and HBM is made on the same lines as plain . So AI has pushed up the price of the memory in your own machine.
Track the memory index →Select a stage to see what constrains it
The metals and silicon a computer is made from — copper, gold, tin and more. We take them out of rock. and cleaning them uses huge amounts of power and water.
What constrains it: , and where the rock sits. A new copper mine needs 10–20 years from the day it is found. Gallium and germanium have no mine of their own at all. They only ever turn up as a side product of other metals.
Explore 15 resourcesLargest moves over the last 12 months
Each line starts at 100, so you can read them side by side
| Index | Latest | Per capability | 1Y | Full series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer GPU from Jan 2015 | $747 | $1.08/benchmark point | +14.3% | +126.9% |
| DDR memory from Jan 2015 | $199 | $6.21/GB | +63.9% | +391.8% |
| NVMe storage from Jan 2015 | $158 | $78.9/TB | +48.3% | +64.1% |
| High-end gaming PC from Jan 2015 | $3,692 | $3.23/performance point | +13.9% | +92.1% |
The same question answered two ways — and the answers disagree
How much material every computer in the world needs in a year
| Resource | Fleet demand | Share of world output | Concentration | Largest producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cement | 3.85m t/yr | 0.09% | 52 | China 51% |
| Steel | 911.3k t/yr | 0.05% | 55 | China 54% |
| Copper | 192.8k t/yr | 0.84% | 30 | Chile 23% |
| Aluminium | 124.1k t/yr | 0.17% | 59 | China 59% |
| Tin | 715 t/yr | 0.25% | 38 | China 26% |
| Silicon | 281 t/yr | 0.01% | 68 | China 68% |
| Tantalum | 28.4 t/yr | 1.35% | 50 | DR Congo 40% |
Price a machine that runs AI on your own desk. See what it is made of, what it draws, and what five years cost.
See why twice the demand does not mean twice the price — and which part moves most.
Start at silicon and copper. Pass through the foundries and the packaging plants. End at the listed companies.
The metal in every interconnect, busbar and winding. And how few places produce it.