Ferro Atlántica to build silicon metal plant in Quebec, creating 300 jobs

Spanish-based multinational FerroAtlántica plans to build a $375-million silicon metal plant in Quebec that would create 300 permanent jobs.

In a statement Wednesday from the international economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, Premier Pauline Marois confir med FerroAtlántica will get favourable power rates from Hydro-Québec for the project and financial support from Investissement Québec.

Some of the quartz mineral that is combined with carbon to produce silicon metal will come from Quebec, FerroAtlántica said, and the company will soon disclose the location of the new plant.

FerroAtlántica, part of the Spanish Villar Mir construction, infrastructure, energy, fertilizer and investment group, has 15 silicon metal plants on four continents and plans the world’s largest with an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes in China.

The Quebec plant would be its first in North America. The plant is to start operations in late 2016, the company said.

Silicon metal, produced in high-efficiency electric arc furnaces, is used in alloys and other products for the auto, energy, mining, electronics and solar power industries, among many others. Highpurity silicon goes into semiconductors.

Investissement Québec said its contribution could take the form of a grant, loan or equity, but no decision has been taken yet.