Simcoa (Silicon Metal Company of Australia) Operations Pty Ltd is an Australian-based company committed to producing the world's highest quality silicon to meet customers' precise needs.

Simcoa, based at Kemerton, 160kms south of Perth, Western Australia, proudly operates the only fully integrated silicon metal production plant in the world.

The industrial site consists of a sawmill, two charcoal retorts, two 27MVA submerged arc electric furnaces, as well as a filter house (for cleaning the furnace off gases), and product packaging and despatch facilities.

This modern plant uses the highest quality raw materials - low ash charcoal, coal and a high purity quartzite. With highly skilled operators and technical expertise, this results in a product which is unique in terms of its consistency and quality.

The high purity quartzite for the silicon smelter is quarried from a mine owned and operated by Simcoa at Moora, 180kms north of Perth. The quarzite deposit contains more than two million tonnes of proven reserves and at least a further four million tonnes in the indicated and inferred resources category.

Kemerton is situated close to a major highway route with direct access to Western Australia's major port facility at Fremantle.

The wood used to manufacture charcoal is a mixture of forest residues (from commercial logging for sawn timber), and sawmill off cuts.

The Simcoa plant has a long-term electricity supply contract with Synergy, the major electricity provider for Western Australia.

Silicon production commenced in December 1989. Today Simcoa is capable of producing in excess of 33,000 tonnes of high purity silicon annually.

In addition, approximately 7,500 tonnes of Microsilica (silica fume) is extracted from the furnace off-gases and is sold as a by-product.