With full disclaimer that I also knew nothing about this before this morning:
It is truly the world's only source thus far developed, and it probably lost large refining facilities that were by the river. The semiconductor industry is going to take a big hit while supply is slowly restored. www.tomshardware.com/tech-industr...
The deposits formed 380 million years ago when Africa collided with North America.
It's slightly hyperbolic; you *could* use less pure quartz, for example, but refining it would be more expensive and less comprehensive, so yields would be lower. Certain cutting-edge processes might not be possible with lower-grade wafers, but more basic chips should work.
Sounds like wishful thinking.
From March this year. I know nothing about this though. www.techspot.com/news/102377-...
Spruce Pine is a small town about two hours drive northwest of Charlotte, NC. You can get to the general area via a number of ways, depending...