This old Wired article is a great piece on this key part of the tech supply chain. www.wired.com/story/book-e...

The Ultra-Pure, Super-Secret Sand That Makes Your Phone Possible

The processor that makes your laptop or cell phone work was fabricated using quartz from this obscure Appalachian backwater.

Sand mining is one of the most violent and exploitative industries in the world. The one time I stopped chasing my research to where it led was when it ended up getting me too close to the vicious world of illegal sand mining in Goa/Karnataka. The human and environmental costs of sand is immense.