North America’s only new source of high purity quartz for advanced technologies
An alternative source of high purity quartz for semiconductor and solar photovolatic (PV) markets
Founded by a team with decades of experience in critical minerals, First Quartz is one of the only companies globally advancing new high purity quartz (HPQ) supply to support multi-decade megatrends in advanced technologies for supercomputing and alternative energy.
We are developing two HPQ projects in British Columbia, Canada.
HPQ is an exceptionally rare mineral, without which semiconductors, solar cells, and fibre optics cannot be manufactured. Today, nearly all global supply originates from a single deposit in the U.S., creating a structural pinch point for industries that depend on it.
Our two high purity quartz deposits, Mt. Rose and Armstrong, have each been independently verified at greater than 99.998% SiO₂ post-refinement with ultra-low impurities, placing them among the only new sources of premium-grade HPQ outside the U.S.
These deposits position First Quartz to deliver a reliable, strategically located supply of HPQ for semiconductor, solar, EV, fibre optic, and next-generation technology applications, anchoring the foundation for Canada’s first domestic HPQ value chain.
HPQ enables the world’s most advanced technologies
Every semiconductor chip, solar module, fibre optic strand, and high-performance lighting system begins with HPQ.
While First Quartz does not manufacture these end-use products, the material we mine and refine, HPQ, underpins the manufacturing processes that enable the world’s most advanced technologies.
High-purity quartz (HPQ) is characterized by extremely low levels of metallic and alkali impurities, along with exceptional chemical purity, optical clarity, and thermal stability. These qualities make HPQ essential in advanced manufacturing, especially in tightly controlled environments such as semiconductor crystal growth, photovoltaic wafer production, fibre-optic glass forming, and precision optics fabrication, where even the smallest impurity or thermal variation can affect performance.
High purity quartz demand is concentrated across at least six primary end market applications:
By developing new, premium-grade HPQ deposits, First Quartz is reinforcing the material backbone of the world’s high-tech economy. From AI data centers and semiconductor fabs to renewable energy systems and optical networks. These industries depend on high purity quartz of unmatched purity, stability, and performance. The foundation on which every modern technology begins.
As innovation accelerates, the demand for ultra-pure quartz continues to grow. And First Quartz is emerging to meet that demand.