Due to a quirk of geology, the purest quartz in all the world comes from the picturesque town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The mineral, created deep within the earth when silicon-rich magmas cooled and crystallized some 370 million years ago, is essential to the production of computer chips and
BloombergNEF estimates that Spruce Pine supplies more than 80 percent of the ultra-pure quartz sand used to manufacture crucibles for both the solar and the semiconductor industry, as well as for optical and lighting applications. Spruce Pine dominates this market, and supplies nearly all of the material that lines the inside of solar crucibles, which come in direct contact with molten silicon. There, purity is particularly important for ensuring high ingot yields and long crucible lifespans.
“The Quartz Corp operates in long value chains where everybody has learnt through Covid the importance of sizable safety stocks,” Haugen wrote. “Between our own safety stocks which are built in different locations and the ones down in the value chain, we are not concerned about shortages in the short or medium term.”
“Our dedicated teams are on-site, conducting cleanup,” the statement noted. “Our final product stock has not been impacted.” The company declined to say how the hurricane could impact its plan to double production capacity in Spruce Pine by 2025.