Spruce Pine, North Carolina, has most of the world's high-quality quartz, a mineral essential for the semiconductors used in smartphones, laptops, and AI chips.

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.