North Carolina floods threaten mines key to global electronics industry

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The facilities in Spruce Pine, now isolated and imperiled by Helene’s floods, are a vital node in the supply chain of smartphones, computers and other electronics.

By Eva Dou, The Washington PostFloodwaters in Swannanoa, N.C. Damage from Hurricane Helene has wiped out infrastructure in large swaths of western North Carolina, including the mining town of Spruce Pine.

The calamity has devastated this small town of about 2,200 along the North Toe River but is also expected to affect people around the world. The high-purity quartz from Spruce Pine’s mines is key for the production of semiconductors - the brains inside computing devices - as well as solar panels, fiber-optic cables and other industrial products.

“We are in a phase of assessing the situation and it is far too early to comment on the impact to high-purity quartz production,” said May Kristin Haugen, head of communications for the Quartz Corp., which is jointly owned by French and Norwegian companies. “Our priority now is people and the families being affected by this terrible storm.”

Some mine employees were counted among the missing on Monday. One post in a Facebook group said that two groups of Sibelco workers had set out Friday from Red Hill, a short distance from Spruce Pine, to clear trees and debris from the roadways. The post said that while most of the 26 workers had since been confirmed safe, some remained unaccounted for.

But the North Carolina floods reflect that natural disasters at home can also disrupt industries crucial for national security.

 

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