Oman has all of the key ingredients necessary to attract international investment in the manufacture of silicon -- a strategically important metal with extensive application in metallurgy, silicone-based products, and crucially, in the production of solar panels, according to an industry expert.

 

Lou Parous, Executive Director of German engineering specialist Viridis.iQ, said the presence of quartz deposits in the Sultanate, coupled with the availability of low-cost electricity, competitive financing, and excellent industrial infrastructure, bode well for the establishment of a silicon smelter in the Sultanate.

 

Speaking at the Oman Mining & Minerals Exhibition & Conference hosted by Oman Expo last week, Parous said the discovery of a "very good" deposit of quartz in Saih Hatat makes for a promising starting point to explore the overall viability of setting up a silicon smelter in the Sultanate.

 

Estimated to hold around 4.5 million tonnes of silica quartz (which differs from silica sand primarily used in the manufacture of glass), the deposits display chemical characteristics that make it suitable as a raw material for silicon production. Other ingredients that will also go into the smelter are wood and a type of charcoal, he said.

 

According to the expert, global production of metallurgical silicon, currently pegged at around 2.5 million tonnes, is growing at a steady rate of approximately five per cent annually. Smelters in China, United States, Iceland and Malaysia account for the bulk of this capacity, although greenfield schemes are currently under consideration in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, among other locations globally.

 

In particular, Oman's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States -- one of the biggest consumers of metallurgical silicon -- makes it ideally placed to host the GCC's first greenfield silicon smelter, said Parous. Duty access to the US market will ensure attractive margins on silicon exports out of the Sultanate, he noted.

 

In addition to its strong export potential, a domestic silicon industry also has the ability to catalyse investment in a wide array of associated, value-added and downstream spin-offs, the expert explained. 

 

In combination with aluminium, silicon is used in the production of a range of alloys, as well as ferroalloys when blended with steel. Processed in combination with dolomite, it yields magnesium which in turn is used in the production of various alloys, among other products. Furthermore, silicon can be processed into silicones, which are a class of synthetic materials used in the manufacture of thousands of products of everyday use.

 

But perhaps most importantly, silicon is the principal raw material in the manufacture of photovoltaic solar panels, Parous stressed. Silicon-based solar panels account for around 90 per cent of the global production of photovoltaic panels, he said.

 

Underpinning the value proposition offered by Oman as a destination for silicon-based industrial investment is its proximity to regional markets, said Parous. Demand within the GCC is estimated at around 100,000 tonnes annually, he said, adding that the free zone at Sohar in particular, with its plug-and-play investor appeal, is an ideal venue for a silicon smelter.

 

Parous also pledged his company's expertise in knowhow transfer and operations support to investors weighing possible investments in metallurgical silicon and ferroalloy and related ventures in the Sultanate.

(Source: Oman Daily Observer 2015)