Did you know ?

    * SIMCOA is Australia's ONLY silicon producer - making us unique.
    * Over 85% of our silicon is exported.
    * SIMCOA employs about 130 local people and indirectly supports another 600 within the south west region.
    * Silicon melts at 1410 oC.
    * The temperature in the arc furnace is over 2500 oC.

Where you might find silicon

You might be surprised at the diverse range of products that contain silicon, including:

    * Silicon solar cells.
    * Silicone rubber and sealants.
    * Silicon chips and wafers.
    * Optical glass and fibre optic cable.
    * Alloy wheels on motor vehicles.

SIMCOA - Some interesting facts

    * We produce more than 33,000 tonnes of silicon and 8,500 tonnes of silica fume per year.
    * We make, and use in our process, about 27,000 tonnes of charcoal and 80,000 tonnes of quartz in a single year.
    * The 2 furnaces at Kemerton make silicon continuously all year round and use as much electricity as the city of greater Bunbury.
    * SIMCOA operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
    * The quartz we use in our process is mined at Moora, north of Perth.
    * SIMCOA commenced production in 1989.

Innovative markets for our waste products

SIMCOA is proud of it's commitment to minimising and recycling waste. If we can't use it we try to find someone that can!

    * Silica fume collected in our baghouse is an important raw material in high strength concrete.
    * Charcoal fines are used to make BBQ beads.
    * Sawdust is sold to landscape gardeners and used as mulch, as well as being used by poultry farmers.
    * Quartz that is too small for use in the furnaces is extensively used in exposed aggregate and landscaping. It can also make a good road base and is sold as a flux for other industries.
    * Slag and dross from the refining of the silicon is sold as a feed for smelters in Europe that make silicon manganese.