Spruce Pine, North Carolina and Silicon Valley Secrets
Small-town America is still producing giants in all fields of industry. It just so happens this giant is found in a microchip. Spruce Pine quartz is the purest in the world and is used in every computer on earth. From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to Al Jazerra, this news is now making its way around the world.
The photos are courtesy of: Alexander S. Glover, PG
Corporate Director of Mining and Environment Active Minerals International, LLC
These are the comments Alex sent along with the photos:
"Attached is one of the actual photos from the BBC story that I took. This photo is of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite including a large muscovite crystal being held by one of the BBC reporters.
This photo (of the pegmatite boulder)is one of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite. The quartz that is used as the feed for the high purity quartz does not occur as single quartz in the ore but as a matrix of the pegmatite which includes about 65% Feldspar,25% quartz, 8% Mica-mainly Muscovite, and a trace of other minerals. The pegmatite is crushed and chemically separated from the other minerals in a very specific process."
Small-town America is still producing giants in all fields of industry. It just so happens this giant is found in a microchip. Spruce Pine quartz is the purest in the world and is used in every computer on earth. From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to Al Jazerra, this news is now making its way around the world.
The photos are courtesy of: Alexander S. Glover, PG
Corporate Director of Mining and Environment Active Minerals International, LLC
These are the comments Alex sent along with the photos:
"Attached is one of the actual photos from the BBC story that I took. This photo is of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite including a large muscovite crystal being held by one of the BBC reporters.
This photo (of the pegmatite boulder)is one of the Spruce Pine Pegmatite. The quartz that is used as the feed for the high purity quartz does not occur as single quartz in the ore but as a matrix of the pegmatite which includes about 65% Feldspar,25% quartz, 8% Mica-mainly Muscovite, and a trace of other minerals. The pegmatite is crushed and chemically separated from the other minerals in a very specific process."
The BBC article August 2, 2009: “Silicon Valley’s Secret Recipe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8178580.stm
Additonal Information:
An earlier technical article from Norway mentioning Spruce Pine’s contribution - February 12, 2008 Norway’s NGU: http://www.ngu.no/no/hm/Georessurser/industrimineraler/Kvarts-og-kvartsitt/Hoy-ren-kvarts/
August 7, 2009 http://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/2009/08/sand-to-chips---whats-the-real-story.html
A Special Report on ABC News, Channel 13 in Asheville, NC - November 2, 2009 “Silicon Valley Secrets” : http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/special_reports/wlos_vid_174.shtml
Book by local Celo author Lowell Presnell, who was highlighted in the ABC News, Channel 13 Special Report. His book, Mines, Miners and Minerals (published by Parkway Publishers in Boone, NC) may be ordered from: http://www.amazon.com/Mines-Miners-Minerals-Carolinas-Mountain/dp/1566641357
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