$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ Helene took out an N.C. town the entire t...

$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$
Helene took out an N.C. town the entire tech world relies on
One NC town reeling from Tropical Storm Helene could impact the massive global semiconductor industry.
Spruce Pine is one of the only places in the world to mine high-purity quartz. The mineral is an essential ingredient of chips in countless products, including medical devices, solar panels, cellphones and the chips powering the latest tech craze, ai.
It is rare, unheard of almost, for a single site to control the global supply of a crucial material. Yet if you want to get high-purity quartz — the kind you need to make those crucibles without which you can't make silicon wafers — it has to come from Spruce Pine.
The Quartz Corp and Sibelco both export high-purity quartz from Spruce Pine. While there are other places to find the material, such as Russia and Brazil, this mountain town has the highest quantity of the highest purity.