Introduction
Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, making up approximately 25% of the Earth's crust by weight. However, obtaining pure silicon in its elemental or metallic form is more challenging. Silicon metal refers to the high purity elemental silicon produced through reducing high purity silicon dioxide or silica with carbon. It is a high-value strategic material that acts as a key raw material for many important modern industries including electronics, semiconductors, solar photovoltaic, and more. With increasing global demand for technologies dependent on silicon, the market for silicon metal is expanding rapidly.

Properties and Production of Silicon Metal
Silicon metal is a silvery-gray, crystalline solid with a melting point of 1414°C. It is chemically less reactive than its allotrope graphite but more reactive than minerals and rocks from which it is extracted. Commercially, silicon metal is produced through the carbothermic reduction of high purity quartz or sand in electric arc furnaces. The main production steps involve purification of silica through floatation and leaching, pre-treatment with chlorine gas and reduction with carbon or carbon monoxide gas at temperatures between 1600-2000°C. Major silicon metal producing companies use large scale electric arc furnaces to produce over two million tons of silicon metal annually to supply various downstream industries.

Uses of Silicon Metal in Semiconductors and Electronics
Silicon metal is indispensable to the global semiconductor industry, which uses purified silicon as the base material for manufacturing integrated circuits and microchips. Over 95% of the world's silicon metal production is consumed for manufacturing silicon wafers, the basic substrates for all microelectronic devices. Virtually every computer, smartphone, sensor and electronic gadget contains silicon chips at its core. Display panels, memory cards, routers and many other electronic products also utilize various forms of processed silicon. The soaring demand for consumer electronics and cloud computing infrastructure has boosted the need for high volume, high purity silicon manufacturing worldwide.

Solar Photovoltaic - A Growing End Market
Solar photovoltaic or PV technology, which converts sunlight directly into electricity, has emerged as a major silicon metal end-use sector. While the majority of today's solar panels still employ crystalline silicon solar cells, new thin film technologies based on materials like cadmium telluride are gaining traction as well. The production of both types of solar cells utilizes highly processed metallurgical or solar grade silicon in either powder or ingot form. With worldwide PV installations growing exponentially driven by lower costs and wider adoption, silicon metal demand from the renewable energy sector continues rising sharply each year. Industry estimates suggest solar could surpass the semiconductor sector as the dominant silicon market in the next decade.

Aluminium Production and Other Applications
Besides its ubiquitous role in electronics and energy industries, silicon metal finds several other important commercial and industrial applications. A significant portion of the global supply is transformed into secondary semi-alloyed aluminium through the addition of 5-25% silicon. These aluminium have improved casting and corrosion resistance properties making them well suited for automotive and engineering parts. Other metallurgical applications of silicon include manufacturing of bronze and rolled steels. In chemical industry, silicon tetrachloride produced from silicon metal acts as an intermediate for making silicone and several agrochemicals. Future applications are also being developed in lightweight materials, lithium-ion batteries and high temperature heat exchangers.

Geopolitics and Supply Security
With electronics being an essential backbone of the modern global economy and renewable energy gaining criticality, silicon metal is emerging as a strategic mineral. With China dominating silicon production globally, accounting for over 55% of world supply, concerns over potential supply disruptions and trade issues have taken center stage. While China has ample high-grade quartz sand reserves, it also faces resource nationalism pressures and environmental compliance challenges. Other key producers including the US, Bosnia, Russia, Norway, Argentina, Kazakhstan continue expanding capacity but high capital costs involved limit swift scale-up. Ensuring supply security and diversification through strategic reserves has thus become an important policy goal for top consumer nations and companies. The geopolitics around this vital raw material is expected to intensify in the coming years.

Despite its abundance in the Earth's crust, producing high purity elemental silicon requires sophisticated metallurgical processes. Silicon metal acts as a critical foundation material for several strategic industries powering the modern world like electronics, semiconductors, solar energy and metallurgy. With expanding applications across new growth areas and a transition towards low carbon technologies, global demand is projected to grow robustly in the long-term. While sufficient resources are available, supply security remains an important focus area considering the concentration of production base. Continuous technology innovation will be key to enhance producers' competitiveness and minimize dependency risks on any single source.

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