SPRUCE Spine, N.C. (AP) — Two North Carolina facilities that produce high-purity quartz used to make semiconductors, solar panels and fiber-optic cables were shut down by Hurricane Helen with no plans to reopen. .
Sybelco and The Quartz Corp. suspended operations Thursday in the Appalachian town of Spruce Pine ahead of the storm that moved into the western part of the state and across the border into East Tennessee. The town is home to a mine that produces some of the highest quality quartz in the world.
As global demand increases, Sibelco announced last year that it would invest $200 million to double the production capacity of its Spruce Pine plant.
Since the storm, the company has been working to ensure the safety and well-being of all its employees, some of whom are “unreachable due to continued power outages and communication disruptions,” the statement said.
“Rest assured that Sibelco is actively cooperating with government agencies and third-party rescue and recovery efforts to mitigate the impact of this event and resume operations as soon as possible,” the company wrote. There is.
Quartz wrote that restarting operations is its “second priority.”
“Our top priority remains the health and safety of our employees and their families,” the company wrote.
Spruce-pine quartz is used around the world to make the equipment needed to make the silicon chips that power all of our digital devices, Vince Beiser, author of “The World in a Grain,” said in an email. He said that
“To make a silicon chip, you first need to melt a high-purity material called polysilicon. “The material of choice for these crucibles is ultra-pure quartz. Spruce pine is the purest source of natural quartz ever discovered on Earth.”
He said an estimated 70 to 90 percent of crucibles used around the world are made from spruce-pine quartz.
Spruce-Pine City Councilman Wayne Pate said while Spruce-Pine city officials are focused on finding people stranded by the storm, reopening the mine is important to more than just the company operating the facility.
Pate estimates that about three-quarters of the town has a direct connection to the mine, whether it’s a job, a mine-dependent job, or a family working at the facility.
“This is what supports our economy,” he said, adding that reopening the facility “is going to be very important” to the people of Spruce Pine.
“If we don’t get cash coming in, especially in counties where we have a lot of people who are already at poverty levels, if that doesn’t happen soon, we’re going to have a really difficult fall and winter,” Pate said. .
