Hurricane Helene Halts Quartz Mines Vital for Chipmaking and Solar
- Sibelco and Quartz Corp. operations closed since Sept. 26
- North Carolina produces 80% of high-purity quartz: BNEF
North Carolina Route 9 in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Oct. 1.
Photographer: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
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Two North Carolina mining operations that produce more than three-quarters of the world’s high-purity quartz, a material critical to the solar and semiconductor industries, have now been halted for almost a week due to Hurricane Helene.
Sibelco and Quartz Corp. both shut their operations on Sept. 26, the companies said in separate statements. It’s too early to say when production could restart, they said.