The devastation of a mountain town in western North Carolina by Hurricane Helene has halted the mining and refining of high-purity quartz, a mineral used to make semiconductors and other high-tech equipment.
The Sibelco and The Quartz Corp mines in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, are the two main sources of high-purity quartz.
Sibelco, the largest of the two ultrapure quartz mining companies in the region said in a statement last week that its operations were without power, but its infrastructure had suffered only minor damage. “The repair of power lines leading to our plants has progressed significantly,” Sibelco said. “Our final product stock has not been affected. “We are working closely with our customers to assess their needs and plan to restart product shipments as soon as we can.”
With increasing demand for more computer chips to power digital systems and services, last year Sibelco announced that it would spend 200 million dollars to double its production of high purity quartz.
The computer chip industry is already struggling to ramp up semiconductor production in the U.S. due to a looming lack of talent needed to manage new manufacturing plants being built there.
Ultrapure quartz, which formed millions of years ago in the Appalachian region, is used to create “crucibles” in which pure polysilicon is melted for use in creating silicon chips. The highest quality quartz can withstand the extreme temperatures required to melt silicon and ensures that no impurities are introduced into the process.
pure quartz crystals
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70% to 90% of crucibles used in silicon production worldwide are made from spruce quartz. according to a report.
High-purity silicon dioxide particles resulting from processing in plants are the raw material from which computer chips and other high-tech equipment, including fiber optic cables and photovoltaic solar cells, are made.
On October 2, The Quartz Corp. said in a statement that most of the damage to its quartz processing plant was due to “auxiliary units.” May Kristin Haugen, spokesperson for The Quartz Corp, said Computer world has “brought in numerous experts to evaluate the three different plants.
“All three of our plants in Spruce Pine are affected, although in different ways,” Haugen said. “They are located in different locations and the consequences for production will likely vary.”
Based on an external “expert evaluation,” the company plans to communicate the status and restoration plans when it is ready. “However, our restoration plan will depend on surrounding infrastructure such as power, water, roads and railways. Depending on the damage, it may take time to restore production, but we will get there,” he said.
Quartz Corp said the COVID-19 pandemic taught it the value of “sizable safety stocks” and, between that and its multiple locations, it is not worried about shortages “in the short to medium term.”
