Micron funds materials processing upstream of its memory fabs
Illustrative image: Unsplash contributor on Pexels
Micron will help fund additional refining and high-purity materials capacity at Indium Corporation’s operations in Rome, New York. The partnership includes restarting domestic critical-mineral processing, with the companies also intending to enter a long-term supply agreement.
“Advanced memory manufacturing depends on a reliable supply of critical minerals,” said Ben Tessone, Micron’s senior vice-president and chief procurement officer. “Enabling that requires engagements well beyond our direct suppliers.”
The agreement reaches further upstream than the supply of a finished manufacturing material. Refining and processing capacity must be available before it can support the fabs that consume its output, making the timing of those investments part of the factory expansion itself.
Micron places the partnership within its wider plan to invest up to $3 billion in the US supply chain. The announcement does not assign that sum to Indium Corporation or disclose a separate funding value for the Rome work.
