Critical Minerals — The Big Three Own the Earth
Phase IV — Material Foundation
Rare earths: China controls 60% mining, 90% processing. MP Materials (Mountain Pass, CA) = sole significant US source.
Also in The Physical Substrate
DOE 17 National Labs — The Weapons-to-AI PipelinePhase I — The Hidden Infrastructure (1942-Present)SMR Nuclear Renaissance — 15+ GW Hyperscaler BuildoutPhase II — The Energy Architecture (2025-2040)The Hardware Oligopoly — Nvidia / TSMC / ASMLPhase III — Three Chokepoints Outside US BordersPhoenix Vulnerability — The Fragile SubstratePhase V — What Breaks at 2040