Helene takes ultrapure quartz mine offline

Helene takes ultrapure quartz mines offline, threatens tech supply chains
Spruce Pine, NC contains largest known deposit of high-purity quartz.

Tommy Greene, wired.com – Oct 2, 2024 9:12 AM
Millions of people across the US South have gone without power or have been forced to evacuate following days of extreme downpours brought on by Hurricane Helene. North Carolina has borne the brunt of the devastation, with the state accounting for a third of all recorded fatalities to date. And as relief operations get underway, the eyes of the world are on a small town of about 2,000 in the western part of the state.

Spruce Pine sits about an hour northeast of Asheville, Mitchell County, and is home to the world’s biggest known source of ultrapure quartz—often referred to as high-purity quartz, or HPQ. This material is used for manufacturing crucibles, on which global semiconductor production relies, as well as to make components within semiconductors themselves.

Semiconductors are the fundamental building blocks of modern IT. Transistors, a type of semiconductor device, are the small electronic switches that perform computation functions in every tech gadget, from smartphones to electric scooters, data centers, and military aircraft. They make possible the processors that power most of the world’s smart gadgets.

HPQ is the raw material for the high-grade quartz products that sit at the heart of high-end consumer tech products. Its chemical and physical properties—including high temperature and corrosion resistance, low thermal expansion, high insulation, and light transmission—mean it can be used in optical communication and electronic light sources technology. HPQ drives a $500 billion microchip industry that is core to the $3 trillion global tech sector.
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https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/helene-takes-ultrapure-quartz-mines-offline-threatens-tech-supply-chains/

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