Timminco said that it was increasing production of silicon metal at its subsidiary, Becancour Silicon due to further purchase commitments from existing customers. As a result, Becancour Silicon will restart the third of its three electric arc furnaces to meet demand. The company is expected to recall some of the workforce that had been laid-off earlier this year, when demand had fallen.
Some its slicon metal is sold for use in industries such as the chemical, aluminium and steel industries as well as the key solar market with its purified UMG-Si.
Timminco produced 243MT upgraded metallurgical silicon, operating three purification lines out of an available seven, during the second quarter of 2009. It shipped only 34MT metric tons in Q209, at an average selling price of $39 per kg, generating $1.3 million of revenue.
