Yuri Adno

M

ore interest has been shown in Russia lately in producing silicon. This interest is typical for both metal producers and hi-tech specialists, though all is not that simple. The SUAL Group, for one, intends to build up capacities to produce metal silicon. At the same time, another major company, RUSAL, which is restructuring its business, plans to sell the Bratsky Plant of Ferroalloys (a subsidiary of the Bratsky Aluminum Plant that is incorporated in RUSAL) with the production capacity of about 10,000 tons of metal silicon and 40, 000 tons of ferrosilicon.

Silicon is widely used in the hi-tech sphere and in the mass-scale manufacturing of big-volume products. It is especially true, above all, for the highly-refined polycrystal silicon and, to a much lesser extent, for silicon monocrystals. The former is applied in production of semiconductors, which serve as a base of advanced information technologies, and is considered a key material for solar batteries. Since the market of computers, electronics and telecommunications is dynamically developing, the demand for this raw material is growing accordingly: by between 15% and 16 % a year. At present, the volume of consumption in this sector amounts to 24,000 tons of silicon. The share of highly-refined polycrystal silicon in the total volume of the world consumption of silicon products does not exceed 5%.
The figure is somewhat bigger (about 8%) for the use of silicon and its compounds by the chemical industry, which needs organic-silicon materials for production of plastics, paintwork articles, etc.
The steel industry and non-ferrous metallurgy are the largest consumers of silicon (over 80%). It is used in alloying compositions for making special steels (electrotechnical and transformer) and alloys (silumin, for example). Besides, various sorts and kinds of silicon ferroalloys (ferrosilicon, silicomanganese, etc) are used as inexpensive and effective deoxidizers in steel making.
There is no shortage of raw material for producing silicon. This is one of the most widespread elements on Earth (about 30%) being contained in a lot of minerals and ores as quartzites and quartz sand. However, in order to get a high-quality product, a raw material of higher purity with a high content of silicon (up to 90% of SiO2) is needed. The major problem of producing silicon is different: its high power intensity (from 12 to 18 kWh/ kg). That is why countries with the developed power industry were among its major producers for a long time.
Now, leading positions in production of ferrosilicon belong to Russia, China, Ukraine and Brazil. China and Brazil are also leading in production of metal silicon. All in all, China is an unchallenged leader accounting for over 35% of the world market of silicon and silicon ferroalloys. Precisely China determines the price level trying to put pressure on main competitors. The price rivalry in the silicon market often results in anti-dumping investigations and sanctions: such measures are usually taken by the U.S. and EU countries.
The U.S. is still considered the biggest consumer of silicon. However, in recent years the use of silicon ferroalloys has been sharply reduced there because of the stagnation in the steel industry. So far the level of the metal silicon consumption is high in the science-intensive sector.
Taking into account the present state of the world metallurgy prospects for developing production of ferroalloys are believed to be positive. By estimates, the growth will be even more dynamic in the production and consumption of crystal silicon, especially silicon monocrystals, which are used to make unique microcircuits.
Russia with its potential to develop manufacturing big-volume products and highly-refined silicon is able to expand its presence in both market sectors.
Till the beginning of the 1990s the USSR industry was producing 1,150 tons of polycrystal silicon a year that accounted for about 12 % of the world production. Following the country’s demise large production facilities turned out to be in Ukraine (the Zaporozhsky integrated titanium-magnesium mill) and Kirgizia (the Kristall plant). Russia was left with no more than a fourth of capacities. Above all, it is the Podolsky chemical metallurgical plant (the Moscow region) and the Krasnoyarsky mill of non-ferrous metals. With the start of reforms the production volume at the Podolsky plant went down sharply. In the middle of the 1990s the plant switched almost completely to tolling schemes and about 90% of its products went to foreign markets. At present, thanks to the growing demand the plant is gradually restoring the production level of the past.
The SUAL group is Russia’ largest producer of metal silicon. The production capacities are concentrated at the two enterprises of the group, at SUAL –Silicon- Ural JSC and Kremny JSC in Siberia. Last year, they produced over 50,000 tons of metal silicon or over 70% of the total Russian volume.
Also, in 2003 Russia’s production volume of ferrosilicon amounted to about 760,000 tons. The Kuztenskie Ferrosplavy Plant JSC accounted for over 50% of this volume (336,000 tons).
Russia seems to benefit much from a promising program of arranging facilities to produce highly-refined silicon at the Krasnoyarsk integrated mining-and-chemical mill. Works have been started there to construct a plant with an annual production capacity of 3,000 tons of semi-conducting silicon, including monocrystals. This enterprise may become one of the world’s largest. As is planned, the first 200,000 t-capacity phase of the plant is to be commissioned in 2005 already.


Reference:
Kremny JSC.
Incorporated in the SUAL group. Produces silicon of metal and chemical grades. Refines metal silicon and is the only producer of its refined kinds in the CIS. The company was set up in March 2001 as a result of incorporating a mining enterprise (the Cheremshansky quartzite quarry in the Republic of Buryatia) in a silicon-producing plant (the Irkutsk region). The Cheremshansky quarry is its raw material base. This is Russia’s largest quartzite field distinguished, among other things, by raw materials of the highest quality. Its refining capacities amount to about 40,000 tons of silicon a year.

Table 1

World production of silicon (including ferroalloys), thou. tons

Country 2002 2003 Increment (slump), %
China 1,270 1,600 26
Russia 490 528 7.8
Norway 390 350 - 10.3
U.S. 261 250 - 4.2
Brazil 217 230 6
Ukraine 210 230 9.5
Republic of South Africa 110 110 0
France 140 100 -28.6
Kazakhstan 83 83 0
Iceland 73 73 0
Canada 66 70 6.1
Spain 55 60 9.1
Venezuela 38 58 52.6
Other countries 320 305 - 4.7
World, total 3,723 4,047 8.7
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Source: MetalTorg.ru