[ezzaf]

Perhaps a more accurate headline would have been this buried deeper in the article

"The US worked through Third World countries and fake companies and finally was able to ship the ore to the US to build the SR-71."

And to complete the loop, Russia is now importing sanctioned American microchips for its missiles via third parties. I wonder if the order form states they will be used in smart pizzas ovens.

[missedthecue]

80% of the world's silicon and magnesium comes from Russia/China. US can't make the stealth coating on the F-35 without it. Can't control where the big bang placed mineral deposits...

*Technically silicon is everywhere but until the US and EU are willing to rip up their riverbeds to get at it, it's as good as nonexistent there.

[pkaye]

The purest silicon for semiconductor wafers comes from Spruce Pine, North Carolina.

https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/made-on-earth/how-the-chi...

[Dylan16807]

I would word that differently. Different sources of sand are good for different things. River sand is very good for concrete, which cares almost entirely about shape and not chemistry. If your goal is silicon you're usually looking elsewhere.

[bigger_inside]

the * is the important part. Little to do with the big bang, much more to do with where we export environmentally disastrous mining operations to. The countries the West destroyed by (among many other things) putting the mines there now (at least that) reap a dividend in leash power. Good for them.

[mcpackieh]

> And to complete the loop, Russia is now importing sanctioned American microchips for its missiles via third parties.

I think they were doing exactly that back then too. The more things change, the more they stay the same.