Silicon metal is used to make aluminum alloys used by the automotive sector and by the chemical industry to produce chemicals known as silicones.
Ferroglobe, the largest Western producer of silicon metal and its alloys as well as manganese alloys, has a worldwide silicon capacity of approximately 275,000 tonnes, not including South African production. The silicon market is nearly three million tons.
Rising demand for silicon provided relief to Ferroglobe’s business as anti-dumping duties https://www.missilicon.com/news/us-department-of-commerce-imposed-final-duties-on-all- silicon-metal-imports-from-malaysia-us-producers-report on cheap imports to the United States made the Alabama plant more viable.
“We are looking at the possibility of restarting the plant in South Africa which has been shut down since 2019,” said Marco Levi, CEO of Ferroglobe, adding that the final decision on whether to open will be taken in the fourth quarter of this year. .
The company’s South African silicon plant, located in the town of Polokwane, produces 51,000 tons per year.
In the United States, Ferroglobe plans to restart the second furnace at its Alabama plant this month, bringing production to 24,000 tonnes of silicon.
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