…“Only quartz can withstand those high temperatures and only quartz specifically mined at Spruce Pine, North Carolina, is pure enough to be used as a crucible for the silicon. Meanwhile, the other use for exceptionally pure silicon is in producing photovoltaic solar panels. The extraordinary […]

…“particularly in China, which last year installed more solar panels than the rest of the world combined. Because it is so pure, quartz mined at Spruce Pine is a dazzling crystalline white. In large quantities, and even when it is lower grade, it resembles the whitest of white beach sands […]