Hurricane Helene, which recently hit North Carolina, caused severe flooding and damage across a vast swath. Among the areas affected is the small town of Spruce Pine, which is home to high-purity quartz mines, the only facilities that produce ultra-pure quartz in the world. High-purity quartz is vital for various stages of chip production, so if its supply is disrupted, this could hurt the semiconductor industry, which is already struggling with supply issues.
There are two companies that mine ultra-pure quartz in Spruce Pine: Sibelco North America and The Quartz Corp. When asked by The Verge, a spokesperson from The Quartz Corp. stated that it was too early to determine whether the company's high-purity quartz production facility has been affected, as its current focus was on the local people and families impacted by the storm. Sibelco has purportedly confirmed a suspension of operations, but our repeated attempts to reach the company were fruitless due to a lack of phone service in the impacted area.
