Silicon Metal is produced from high quality quartz when reacted with coal, wood chips and other carbon materials at very high temperatures. Commercially, this chemical reaction takes place in large submerged electric arc furnaces. The most common uses of silicon metal is in the aluminum, chemical and electronic industries.

In the aluminum industry, silicon is used as an alloying agent. Molten aluminum becomes more fluid when small amounts of silicon metal are added, thus enabling the aluminum to be cast into various shapes and forms. It also gives aluminum added strength, hardness and other properties that allows aluminum to be used in products such as wheels, pistons, engine blocks, aluminum cans and many other commonly found products.

In the chemical industry, silicon metal is the base material for making silicones. Silicones have a wide variety of forms ranging from fluids to rigid materials. Because silicones also offer a wide range of properties such as electrical resistance, temperature resistance, water repellency, lubrication characteristics, as well as many others, the silicones end up in over ten thousand products. Some of these include the synthetic oils, silicone caulks and sealers, car wax, underarm deodorants, and anti-foams such as those used in the sodas we drink.

Silicon metal is important to the electronic industry, as it is the base material used in the manufacture of high purity polycrystalline silicon. These products are used in the manufacture of semiconductors, microchips for computers and solar cells used to capture electrical energy from the sun.

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