Hurricane Helen disrupted critical chip mining operations in North Carolina.

Companies mining high-purity quartz in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, have suspended operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen. Quartz is an important component in the chip manufacturing process and is found only in spruce pine.

Two mining companies in the area, Sibelco and The Quartz Corp, confirmed operations were halted due to flooding, power outages and staff displacement. in Statement posted on websiteSibelco confirmed that it had “temporarily suspended operations at the Spruce Pine facility in response to these issues” effective September 26.

We are working closely with local teams to safely resume operations as quickly as possible and are actively working with local authorities and other partners to manage the situation. Our top priority is ensuring the health, safety and well-being of our employees as well as the security of our Spruce Pine facilities.

Spruce Pine is the only natural source of quartz pure enough to serve as a crucible for melting polysilicon. Polysilicon is then used to make silicon wafers, the basis of semiconductors used in cell phones, laptops, solar panels, and more. The 2008 Spruce Pine fire sent “shudders” through the chip industry when mining operations were shut down. According to a report by mad.

It’s too early to tell what impact paused operations will have on the chip manufacturing supply chain, but as we’ve seen in the past, it doesn’t take much to disrupt them.