Essential node in global semiconductor supply chain hit by Hurricane Helene | 196 points | 50 comments | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41701862

> and 70% of the world's supply comes from just one place in North Carolina

A quick search seems to say there are more places available for getting that than North Carolina.

Is it possible that this specific mine just happens to be the cheapest available right now, but in case they for some reason disappear, there are alternatives everyone would switch to? Or is the situation that if that mine disappears, there is no other alternatives at all?

Oh, cool. One of the most common glass batches (raw materials melted to make glass) used by artists is "Spruce Pine Batch".

Spruce Pine doesn't use sand, they mine large quartz crystals out of pegmatites.

I wrote this comment on an article that was on HN about 6 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39818778

Sadly, given the insane amount of devastation in western NC, I'll get a chance to test my hypothesis. That is, despite Spruce Pine going offline, the overall impact to the global semiconductor industry will be relatively unnoticeable.

I'm not sure that's technically irony but rather an interesting coincidence.

A coincidence is not ironic

The majority of the earth's crust is believed to be made of silicon dioxide. I don't know how much I would believe that we would have a scarcity. It may all come from one source simply because of history.