I'm hearing that the all-important quartz factory is gone? If so, this is HUGE!!! "The quartz mine needed to refine silicone needed to make anything electronic in North Carolina is gone, thus far this is only known source in the world for this type of quartz."
Article from March 2024: The world's semiconductor industry hinges on a single quartz factory in North Carolina, "the sole supplier of the quartz required to make the crucibles needed to refine silicon wafers." "However, any sudden closure or interruption of the mining at Spruce Pine would likely cause "pretty catastrophic" disruption (and extra expense) for a few years as the industry scales up manufacturing." https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/the-worlds-semiconductor-industry-hinges-on-a-quartz-factory-in-north-carolina
Is this a white hat or Black hat operation? This leads me to the conclusion that the deserve-it-factor of the Western World is hitting all-time lows.