Operations at a crucial facility for the semiconductor industry in North Carolina have now been stopped for five days as the state recovers from the devastation brought on by the remnants of Hurricane Helene over the weekend. 

The mines, located in Spruce Pine, North Carolina (around 50 miles northeast of Asheville, North Carolina), are home to some of the purest quartz, which is a critical input in semiconductor production. While quartz mines can be found across the world, geologists and researchers have said that nothing truly rivals the quality of the materials found in western North Carolina.