The world is overly reliant on one US-located mine for critical chipmaking material, but China is working to break the stranglehold — China investing over $14 million in synthetic quartz manufacturing to diversify away from US dependency

China just invested RMB 100 million, worth about $14 million at the current exchange rate, into Nantong Crystal Co., Ltd. — a materials company that specializes in synthesizing high-quality quartz for use in semiconductor manufacturing. At the moment, the U.S. is the primary source of natural high-purity quartz for chipmaking, specifically at one particular mine in North Carolina. This material is crucial for fabricating the quartz crucible needed to hold molten silicon during crystallization for…