My cousins boyfriend lives in Spruce Pine. Saw him yesterday and he said don’t believe the death total they give you because they have almost 200 that haven’t been identified yet. Sorry I’m going to believe a local over this lying government
Unfortunately, I think it’s a lot more than 30!!!
A government buy out? Really? Would it include that land that has the mineral mines for tech crystals for semiconducter manufacturing. Could the government have used cloud seeding to drive that increased rain towards that area. Cloud seeding injects condensation nuclei into the atmosphere and moisture sticks to it to increase the rainfall intensity. Cloud seeding was used in Viet Nam in the early 70’s in the rain forests to increase moisture. I get it, the government wants that valuable land from someone and will only pay pennies on the dollar for it and take over the mines to make billions. Ahhhh Huhhhhh. Got it.
Two mines in North Carolina are the world’s only producer of the quartz necessary for semiconductor manufacturing
If they were to stop operating, it would mean a few years of catastrophic disruption, says Wharton professor Ethan Mollick
By Erika Morphy March 24, 2024 at 7:55 AM
Why it matters: Ultra-high-purity quartz is an essential component to semiconductor chips, and the only places in the world that can meet this need are two mines in a small North Carolina town. The mines’ owner, Sibelco, is investing $700 million to expand capacity, but is that enough to keep up with AI-fueled chip demand?
Spruce Pine is a small town about two hours drive northwest of Charlotte, NC. You can get to the general area via a number of ways, depending on your point of origin, but for the last stretch of the trip, you need to travel down Fish Hatchery Rd. It’s a two-lane rural highway, as depicted in Google Maps, set amid a pleasant scenic backdrop.
It’s on this road that the modern economy rests, according to Wharton associate professor Ethan Mollick, who teaches innovation and entrepreneurship and also examines the effects of artificial intelligence on work and education. That’s because the road runs to the two mines that are the sole supplier of the quartz required to make the crucibles needed to refine silicon wafers.
This is not the first time these mines – owned by Sibelco, which mines, processes, and sells specialty industrial minerals – have been highlighted as integral not only to the global semiconductor industry but also to the solar photovoltaic markets.
Ed Conway raised the issue in his book, Material World, published last summer. Even before that, various media have covered the obscure mines. Mollick raised it again in a recent Tweet, emphasizing its strategic importance. If the mines were somehow to stop operating, “it would likely [be] a few years of major disruption while techniques to generate alternatives were scaled up. But the disruption would be pretty catastrophic.”
It is an alarming prospect to contemplate, and it is fair to wonder whether Mollick is indulging in a bit of hyperbole. But there is no denying the fact that digital devices around the world contain a small piece of Spruce Pine’s unique ultra-high-purity quartz. “It does boggle the mind a bit to consider that inside nearly every cell phone and computer chip you’ll find quartz from Spruce Pine,” Rolf Pippert, mine manager at Quartz Corp, a leading supplier of high-quality quartz, tells the BBC.
How did this unassuming North Carolina town gain such an outsized role in the global semiconductor supply chain? The answer is its unique mineral deposits, which formed 380 million years ago during the collision of Africa and North America. The intense heat and lack of water during their formation created quartz rock of unparalleled purity. These rocks are extracted from the ground and turned into quartz gravel, which is then processed into a fine sand. The silicon is separated from other minerals and then goes through a final milling. The final product is a powder that is shipped to refineries.
The inexorable march of artificial intelligence will continue to drive demand for chips and the materials in its supply chain. One question to ponder is whether Spruce Pine can keep up.
Let’s not forget the lithium around Chimney Rock area! Harris’s hubby is heavily invested in the company that wants the land. Too coincidental for my investigating mind.
Most definitely too coincidental. Government will probably acquire it for the Nanny lover. Here is the rest of the publication from above.
“iSibelco, of course, has noted these trends as well and last year announced a $200 million investment to double high purity quartz capacity at its Spruce Pine facility, citing demand for the product, which is sold under the brand name IOTA. It will invest a further $500 million between 2024 and 2027.”
Praying for all that went through two devastating Hurricanes, 🙏🙏🙏 very sad people are still missing in NC 🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Buyout sure would make Harris & hubby very rich! Praying they rebuild. It’s beautiful country and not a site for mining!!!
Sad , that’s All they care About!!!!! These innocent people lost everything! Our Government is a Disgrace, to say the least! I feel they have not done enough! All they care about buying these people out!!!! would not believe it this wasn’t caused by could seeding 😞
There are a lot more missing and dead than that. It’s all over X. They have been getting 0 help from the government. I just saw a new video from Chimney Rock and volunteers are still finding people who haven’t seen anyone since this happened. There is still devastation everywhere, people in need and according to reports, the smell of death from all the unrecovered.
My cousins boyfriend lives in Spruce Pine. Saw him yesterday and he said don’t believe the death total they give you because they have almost 200 that haven’t been identified yet. Sorry I’m going to believe a local over this lying government
Unfortunately, I think it’s a lot more than 30!!!
A government buy out? Really? Would it include that land that has the mineral mines for tech crystals for semiconducter manufacturing. Could the government have used cloud seeding to drive that increased rain towards that area. Cloud seeding injects condensation nuclei into the atmosphere and moisture sticks to it to increase the rainfall intensity. Cloud seeding was used in Viet Nam in the early 70’s in the rain forests to increase moisture. I get it, the government wants that valuable land from someone and will only pay pennies on the dollar for it and take over the mines to make billions. Ahhhh Huhhhhh. Got it.
Two mines in North Carolina are the world’s only producer of the quartz necessary for semiconductor manufacturing
If they were to stop operating, it would mean a few years of catastrophic disruption, says Wharton professor Ethan Mollick
By Erika Morphy March 24, 2024 at 7:55 AM
Why it matters: Ultra-high-purity quartz is an essential component to semiconductor chips, and the only places in the world that can meet this need are two mines in a small North Carolina town. The mines’ owner, Sibelco, is investing $700 million to expand capacity, but is that enough to keep up with AI-fueled chip demand?
Spruce Pine is a small town about two hours drive northwest of Charlotte, NC. You can get to the general area via a number of ways, depending on your point of origin, but for the last stretch of the trip, you need to travel down Fish Hatchery Rd. It’s a two-lane rural highway, as depicted in Google Maps, set amid a pleasant scenic backdrop.
It’s on this road that the modern economy rests, according to Wharton associate professor Ethan Mollick, who teaches innovation and entrepreneurship and also examines the effects of artificial intelligence on work and education. That’s because the road runs to the two mines that are the sole supplier of the quartz required to make the crucibles needed to refine silicon wafers.
This is not the first time these mines – owned by Sibelco, which mines, processes, and sells specialty industrial minerals – have been highlighted as integral not only to the global semiconductor industry but also to the solar photovoltaic markets.
Ed Conway raised the issue in his book, Material World, published last summer. Even before that, various media have covered the obscure mines. Mollick raised it again in a recent Tweet, emphasizing its strategic importance. If the mines were somehow to stop operating, “it would likely [be] a few years of major disruption while techniques to generate alternatives were scaled up. But the disruption would be pretty catastrophic.”
It is an alarming prospect to contemplate, and it is fair to wonder whether Mollick is indulging in a bit of hyperbole. But there is no denying the fact that digital devices around the world contain a small piece of Spruce Pine’s unique ultra-high-purity quartz. “It does boggle the mind a bit to consider that inside nearly every cell phone and computer chip you’ll find quartz from Spruce Pine,” Rolf Pippert, mine manager at Quartz Corp, a leading supplier of high-quality quartz, tells the BBC.
How did this unassuming North Carolina town gain such an outsized role in the global semiconductor supply chain? The answer is its unique mineral deposits, which formed 380 million years ago during the collision of Africa and North America. The intense heat and lack of water during their formation created quartz rock of unparalleled purity. These rocks are extracted from the ground and turned into quartz gravel, which is then processed into a fine sand. The silicon is separated from other minerals and then goes through a final milling. The final product is a powder that is shipped to refineries.
The inexorable march of artificial intelligence will continue to drive demand for chips and the materials in its supply chain. One question to ponder is whether Spruce Pine can keep up.
Let’s not forget the lithium around Chimney Rock area! Harris’s hubby is heavily invested in the company that wants the land. Too coincidental for my investigating mind.
Most definitely too coincidental. Government will probably acquire it for the Nanny lover. Here is the rest of the publication from above.
“iSibelco, of course, has noted these trends as well and last year announced a $200 million investment to double high purity quartz capacity at its Spruce Pine facility, citing demand for the product, which is sold under the brand name IOTA. It will invest a further $500 million between 2024 and 2027.”
Praying for all that went through two devastating Hurricanes, 🙏🙏🙏 very sad people are still missing in NC 🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Buyout sure would make Harris & hubby very rich! Praying they rebuild. It’s beautiful country and not a site for mining!!!
Sad , that’s All they care About!!!!! These innocent people lost everything! Our Government is a Disgrace, to say the least! I feel they have not done enough! All they care about buying these people out!!!! would not believe it this wasn’t caused by could seeding 😞
There are a lot more missing and dead than that. It’s all over X. They have been getting 0 help from the government. I just saw a new video from Chimney Rock and volunteers are still finding people who haven’t seen anyone since this happened. There is still devastation everywhere, people in need and according to reports, the smell of death from all the unrecovered.