[Rockhounds] new-smithsonian-museum-display-showcases-the-mineral-building-blocks-of-cellphones

[Drew]

I have always heard that every cell phone and computer contained a part of
Spruce Pine, NC, in the form of silicon quarried by the Quartz Corporation
(was Unimin). Anyone know if this is still the case?

I guess it is still pretty important stuff considering it is shipped 4000+
miles (6000+ km) to Norway for processing to 99.998% SiO2 (
https://www.imerys.com/minerals/quartz)

Here's a bit of a dated video pretty much saying the same things I've heard
for 20 years, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcALkwLpaW8

Anyone else know of any other super pure quartz mines/quarries in the world?


On Wed, Jul 5, 2023 at 2:14 PM Jeffrey Joy <jeffreyjoy at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2023/06/28/new-museum-display-showcases-the-mineral-building-blocks-of-cellphones/
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