Hurricane Helen, which recently struck North Carolina, caused severe flooding and damage across a wide area. Among the affected areas is the small town of Spruce Pine, home to quartz mines and the only facilities in the world that produce ultra-pure quartz, which is vital to various stages of chip production. The damage to the semiconductor industry has yet to be assessed.
Image source: usatoday.com
Two companies mine ultra-pure quartz in Spruce Pine: Sibelco North America and The Quartz Corp. The storm brought nearly 70 cm of rain to Spruce Pine, cutting off access to roads and leaving many residents without power. Lack of access to roads and communication problems caused by severe flooding make it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage caused by Sibelco and The Quartz Corp.
Quartz from the Spruce Pine mines is renowned for its purity, making it critical for the production of silicon smelting containers, precision optics and light guides. Producing pure silicon is possible using crucibles made from less pure quartz, but the process is more expensive and time-consuming.
Spruce Pine’s quartz mines are critical to the global semiconductor supply chain. In 2008, a fire in the city caused a shutdown of production and disruption of the supply of ultra-pure quartz to the world market, causing serious problems for the industry. Stopping production today could have even more serious consequences, since the world needs orders of magnitude more chips than in 2008.
The global semiconductor industry is currently facing systemic challenges due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts and China’s move to restrict gallium and germanium exports in response to US sanctions. Any interruptions in the supply of ultra-pure quartz could aggravate an already difficult situation.