The small town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, is one of the only sources of high-purity quartz on Earth, but it has been left battered by the storm's heavy rains

Global semiconductor makers are monitoring supplies of high-purity quartz, a material critical to the industry, after Hurricane Helene halted production at two North Carolina mines that produce most of the world’s supply.

But fears about a serious disruption to global chipmaking following Hurricane Helene may be overstated. High-purity quartz found in Spruce Pine is a key material used in the production of silicon wafers that are used to make semiconductors.