Fossil Locator Profile picture
Sep 29 8 tweets 3 min read Read on X
How do I express that I’m concerned about the people of western NC and I’m also concerned about the potential future global economic disaster because Spruce Pine is the sole producer of ultra pure Quartz for crucibles that all global semiconductor production relies on? Image
Like, all semiconductor production may grind to a halt in six months. The entire world’s economy depends on Spruce Pine.
Like, the quarries are against mountains and the production plants are right next to a river Image
If you want to learn more on the history of the ultra pure Quartz of Spruce Pine: wired.com/story/book-exc…
Hey @VinceBeiser @EdConwaySky , I believe each of your wrote a book on this topic. So, is this a serious concern?
Since this is getting a lot of response and I'm not going to read and respond to most, I'll just leave this here:
1) People come first! Rescue is the primary goal and also get services back on. You need clean water, food, electricity, etc to survive.
2) If the quarry and plants are ok, great, we learned something about ultra pure quartz and semiconductors.
3) If the plant and quarry are not ok. There will be competitors and solutions that can be brought up in probably a few months. The question is, are semiconductor companies going to be ok for that long or are they going to drag all of us into a global first. All your eggs in one basket and all that.
Further update: Sibelco tells clients it may not be able to fulfill orders

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Fossil Locator

Fossil Locator Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @FossilLocator

Dec 14, 2022
Let's look at a thing on Google Earth, here's Morocco/Western Sahara, do you see that line? Image
Here's a closer look, it's 62 miles long NW-SE line across the deser...
On one end is a port, on the other end is a phosphate mine PortPhosphate mine
Read 7 tweets
Feb 3, 2022
Many people have tagged me about the Enigma diamond that Sotheby's is auctioning and how they're saying it's from outer space. So let's talk about it.

Pictured is the 555.55 carat Enigma diamond, which Sothebys is auctioning in five days, current bid 300,000 GBP The Enigma diamond, a 555 ct black diamond
There's not much provenance info other than it was bought in the 1990's and originally weighed 800 carats. Carbonados are only found in Brazil and Central African Republic. My guess is it's probably from Brazil based the size since most of the larger carbonados are found there
Carbonados are usually cheap because they're not gem quality. They're usually "frothy" in appearance. I used to buy them rough for $20-$40 per carat. Here are few in rough form, pic by James St. John
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(