. BofA analysis: High-Purity Quartz – the hidden starting point for AI chips The main supplier is the United States! One of the least talked-about but most critical bottlenecks in the entire semiconductor and AI supply chain is high-purity quartz (HPQ). According to BofA Global Research - HPQ is used to produce quartz crucibles that grow single-crystal silicon ingots. - These ingots become silicon wafers, the foundation of virtually every advanced chip, including AI accelerators. - 70–80% of the ultra-high-purity natural quartz suitable for semiconductor-grade crucibles comes from a single region: Spruce Pine, North Carolina (US). - Main operators: Quartz Corp and Sibelco (Belgium). This creates an extreme single-region geological dependence. In 2024, Hurricane Helene already disrupted mining and logistics in the area, exposing how quickly a localized event can ripple through global wafer production. Key points from the analysis - Synthetic and alternative quartz exist, but they remain more expensive and not yet fully scalable replacements. - Inventory buffers exist but only cover limited periods. - Diversification is slow due to long qualification timelines. - New high-purity resources were identified in Tibet (Dinggye) in June 2026, though commercial viability and scale remain uncertain. Bottom line: High-purity quartz is not a normal commodity. It is a geological bottleneck. Any disruption in Spruce Pine can affect crucible availability, wafer production, and ultimately the supply of advanced chips long before it shows up at the chip fab level. Source: BofA Global Research

. India’s strategic petroleum shortage amplifies supply risk Before the conflict, about 52% of India’s roughly 5 million b/d of crude imports passed through the Strait of Hormuz, creating a major vulnerability for one of the world’s fastest-growing oil consumers. As of July, India’s strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) covered only about 9.5 days of net oil imports. State-run companies held another 64.5 days of crude and product stocks, bringing total national coverage to roughly 74 days, still below the 90-day level required of International Energy Agency members. India is expanding capacity. New facilities are planned or under way at Chandikhol (4 million mt), Visakhapatnam (1.33 million mt), Mangalore (1.5 million mt), and Padur (2.5 million mt). ONGC has also been asked to build an additional 1.75 million mt SPR at Mangalore. On the other hand, South Korea has already moved to diversify: African crude imports more than doubled in the first half, and Seoul is expanding its own SPR while exploring storage outside the Strait of Hormuz, including in Fujairah. For more details, visit S&P’s September Insight.