"Modern Economy Rests On Single Road" In North Carolina Where Hurricane Collapsed Bridges
"Almost every crystalline silicon photovoltaic module and semiconductor chip made in the world today relies on this mining district in western..."
"Modern Economy Rests On Single Road" In North Carolina Where Hurricane Collapsed Bridges
by Tyler Durden
Monday, Sep 30, 2024 - 11:05 AM
In March, a Wharton professor who studies artificial intelligence and start-ups claimed on X, "The modern economy rests on a single road in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. 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."
Ethan Mollick noted at the time, "There are no alternative sources known" if supply disruptions were seen in Spruce Pines.
Fast-forward to this past weekend across the Western North Carolina area, where a major disaster continues to unfold after tropical system Helene dumped torrential rains and unleashed devastating floods that pulverized entire towns, destroyed roads, highways, and bridges, and left tens of thousands without power.
Back to Mollick. He shared with his followers a detailed list of the top miners in Spruce Pine, highlighting Sibelco North America, known for producing ultra-high-purity quartz used in refined silicon wafers.
As of Monday morning, Mollick's worst fears could be realized as Google Traffic data shows road closures around the Sibelco mining facilities and across the entire region.
A 2018 note from Wired shows just how critical Spruce Pines area mines are for semiconductor production: "A fire in 2008 at one of the main quartz facilities in Spruce Pine for a time all but shut off the supply of high‑purity quartz to the world market, sending shivers through the industry."
Earlier this year, Tom's Hardware cited Mollick's X posts, saying the Wharton professor "provides an excerpt from Conway's Material World, which discusses the probable "end of computer chip manufacture as we know it," should something untoward happen at Spruce Pine or in the skies above it."
Here's what folks on X are saying about Spruce Pines...
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How do I express that I’m concerned about the people of western NC and I’m also concerned about the potential future global economic disaster because Spruce Pine is the sole producer of ultra pure Quartz for crucibles that all global semiconductor production relies on?
https://x.com/FossilLocator/status/1840218595541778791
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Oh joy, what a great time to find out that a massive supply bottleneck for computer chips and solar panels exists right by a river in western North Carolina...
https://x.com/AlbertaNuclear/status/1840457423976370246
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There has been no confirmation from the miner about any disruption. Well, not as of Monday morning.
see all x posts and entire press report at:
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/modern-economy-rests-single-road-north-carolina-where-hurricane-collapsed-bridges