Free Republic

In March, a Wharton professor who studies artificial intelligence and start-ups claimed on X, “The modern economy rests on a single road in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The road runs to the two mines that are the sole supplier of the quartz required to make the crucibles needed to refine silicon wafers.” Ethan Mollick noted at the time, “There are no alternative sources known” if supply disruptions were seen in Spruce Pines.

HIGH TECH TURNAROUND WRIGHT TWP. - During the next four years, Fairchild Semiconductor will invest $143 million in its Mountain Top-area silicon wafer production facility, adding 320 jobs and maintaining 292 others. The growth surge is a reversal for the Crestwood Industrial Park plant, which has struggled through the multi-year technology industry downturn. Even with the employment boost, Fairchild's employment level will be far below the approximately 950 people it employed in 1998, when it was part of Harris Semiconductor. In January 2003, the company shifted production at the local facility from 6-inch to 8-inch silicon wafers and - over...