@Marakus @Aether it wasn't *that* long ago that local manufacturing and sourcing was the norm virtually everywhere for everything. sure, people were importing niche goods they didn't have locally but they weren't buying industrial feedstocks from the other side of the planet

anyone, anywhere should be able to make silicon crystals of sufficient purity with the right expertise and enough energy to pump into the process. you can find relatively clean deposits of silicates literally anywhere on earth