Following Hurricane Helene's impact on two high-purity quartz mines in North Carolina, global semiconductor manufacturers are keeping a close eye on their quartz supplies, a critical material for the chip industry. Key players such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM, Financial) and Germany's Infineon Technologies have stated that they are monitoring the situation but do not expect significant operational impacts.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also foresee minimal disruption. TSM supplier Topco Scientific is assessing inventory levels and maintaining close contact with all suppliers. Due to semiconductor companies' typical stockpiling of essential components and the eventual recovery of operations in North Carolina, the global impact on chip manufacturing remains uncertain.
GlobalWafers, one of the world's largest silicon suppliers, has announced that there is no immediate concern as the supply chain has sufficient stock to handle temporary supply interruptions. They anticipate no effect on fulfilling current orders.
The quartz mining companies in North Carolina, Sibelco and Quartz, suspended production on September 26 due to Hurricane Helene, which caused flooding, power outages, and communication disruptions. The timeline for resuming production remains unclear.
