Geologists drill a core to see what's underneath the ground. We're going to do the same with tiles. Every number on this page has layers under it, and today you learn to read them.
with Elizabeth Cecilia. Tap any underlined word for a quick definition.
00
The overview page
The report is Critical Raw Materials Intelligence, the kit's report. This first page, Commodity, is the overview, with the set to Commodity group = All. A opens it with one question: of these eleven commodities, where should I worry first?
01
Read the Basis line before the number
Every has a grey under its title. It's the tile's core sample. Here's the row of at the top of the page.
Critical Raw Materials IntelligenceCommodityCommodity group: All
High-dependency / high-risk commodities (derived)
composite of two measures · count of commodities · EU27 · all commodities · 2025
4
Import reliance (derived)
all stages combined · % of apparent consumption, gross weight · EU27 · all commodities · 2025
60%
read this one
Import volume (derived)
all product forms · kt, gross weight · extra-EU imports · all commodities · 2025
15.9K
Price index, TTM change (derived)
refined product · index, Jan 2025 = 100, prices in EUR · World · all commodities · Jan to Dec 2025
20.3%
Take the tile. From left to right, the parts of its Basis line are:
stageall stages combined
unit% of ,
scope (where)
filter (which)all commodities
period2025
The stage is the : where in the chain from mine to product the figure sits. Chart tiles add three more parts at the end: source, as-of date, and (reported, assumed, measured, announced). The word in brackets in the title, such as (derived), is the . Every tile shows a from the , and the Basis line describes that measure.
Predict first: the tile says 60%. Sixty percent of what?
02
Why 60% when most bars are higher?
Below the KPIs sits a bar chart of import reliance for each commodity. Here it is with the names hidden. Eight of the eleven bars are above 70%.
Predict first: so why is the headline only 60%?
03
Spot the problem
Now the full chart, as it is in the report: sorted A to Z. You get ten seconds.
10-second challenge: which commodity is the EU most reliant on? Tap its bar.
10
EU import reliance (derived)
all stages combined · % of apparent consumption, gross weight · EU27 · all commodities · 2025 · Comext; PRODCOM · as of Sep 2026 · reported
Press Start to see the chart.
Follow-up: what would have made that instant?
What a BA does next: raise it with the and note it against the measure's row in the . Don't quietly re-sort it yourself. The page is meant to answer "where first?", and alphabetical order works against that.
04
Two scores at once
The places each commodity by and , using the 2023 assessment scores.
Supply risk against economic importance (derived)
assessment scores, not a stage · score · EU27 · 2023 assessment · JRC RMIS · as of 2023 · reported
Stylised: the dots show the pattern, not the real scores.
Predict first: where are the commodities to worry about first?
Why a scatter? Two bar charts would show each score separately. The scatter shows the combination, and here the combination is what matters.
05
Today versus a target
The sets a for each stage. The tracker tile compares the EU today with those targets.
CRMA benchmark tracker (proprietary)
extraction · processing · recycling · % of annual EU consumption, contained metal · EU27 · group level: selected group · 2025 output, not 2030 capacity; benchmark is for 2030 · CRMA Tracker · as of Sep 2026 · reported
Stage
EU share 2025
Benchmark 2030
Extraction
3%
10%
Processing
14%
40%
Recycling
9%
25%
Predict first: processing is at 14% against 40%. Has the EU missed its target by 26 points?
06
The other tiles on this page
High-dependency / high-risk commodities: 4A count that combines two measures. A commodity counts when the EU imports more than 80% of what it uses and its supply-risk score is above 3. It's a screening rule, not a forecast.
Import volume: 15.9K kt, all product forms, gross weight.
Price index, TTM change: 20.3%How much the index rose over the last twelve months ().
Price index, trailing twelve months (derived)
Base, battery and magnet metals, each as a with Jan 2025 = 100. Indexing makes groups with very different prices comparable.
Base metalsBattery metalsMagnet metals
Stylised sketch: no real values.
07
Three layers today
Three layers today: read the Basis line first, ask how a figure is weighted, and check the period on both sides of a comparison. Next lesson: who actually controls the supply?
Read the Basis line first. Ask how a figure is weighted. Check the period on both sides of a comparison.
A average and a plain average of the same bars can tell different stories. Both are valid; ask which question each one answers.
Terms in this lesson
Earn 5 XP for every term you know.
Get the project files
Everything is free on GitHub. Open the report next to the lessons and check each step for yourself.
The whole project
The Power BI project, the seed project, the specs and the tools: the whole kit. On the GitHub page, click the green Code button, then Download ZIP, and unzip it anywhere.
The Critical Raw Materials Intelligence report as a single .pbix file to open in Power BI Desktop. Open the latest release under Releases, then Assets, on the right of the GitHub page.