How Hurricane Helene Jolted the Global Chip Industry

An aerial view of the quartz mines in Spruce Pine, N.C., on Sept. 30.Photographer: Gary D. Robertson/AP
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Hurricane Helene caused havoc in North Carolina, killing dozens of people and stranding others, washing away homes, businesses and crops and knocking out electricity and water.

It also shut two mines that together produce about four-fifths of the world’s highest-quality quartz — a crucial ingredient in the production of semiconductors.