Sakura poised to produce silico manganese

KUCHING: Sakura Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd, a tripartite joint venture of South African, Japanese and Taiwanese firms, will go into the production of silico manganese at its smelting plant in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu after it successfully commenced production of high carbon ferro manganese about two months ago.

The US$328mil plant’s first metal tap occurred in May upon successful hot commissioned of the first of its two 81MVA furnaces, according to South Africa’s Assmang Proprietiary Ltd.

Assmang is the controlling shareholder in Sakura Ferroalloys, with an equity interest of 54.36%. The other shareholders are Japan’s Sumitomo Corp (24.64% stake) and Taiwan’s China Steel Corp (19%).

The first shipment of Sakura’s high carbo ferro manganese to overseas buyer was made last month. China Steel is one of the offtakers of the plant’s output.

“The plant’s second furnace will be hot-commissioned in the third quarter of 2016, and will initially produce high carbon ferro manganese and then be switched to produce silico manganese.

“It is anticipated that the first shipments of silico manganese will be made in first quarter-2017,” Assmang said in an announcement on its website. Assmang supplies manganese ore required to feed Sakura Ferroalloys’ production.

At full capacity,the smelting plant’s total production of both the furnaces will be around 110,000 tonnes of high carbon ferro manganese and 70,000 tonnes of silico manganese.

Sakura Ferroalloys general manager Chris Rowe had said previously that the company was eyeing big steel producers in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia to sell its products.

Ferro manganese and ferro alloys are essential ingredients in the production of various types of carbon, alloy steel and alloy iron. They are also used widely for the deoxidation, de-sulphurisation and refining of steel.

Sakura Ferroalloys is among the five pioneer energy-intensive industries that set up manufacturing facilities in Samalaju Industrial Park within Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) and is Malaysia’s second ferrosilicon alloys producer.

OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd – a 75-25 joint venture between Australian listed OM Holdings Ltd and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS), is the first such producer, with its smelting plant began commercial operation in Samalaju Industrial Park nearly two years ago.

OM Materials is currently producing ferrosilicon alloys, and the company plans to move into production of manganese alloys under the plant’s phase II development. The combined installed production capacity under the two-phase development is 600,000 tonnes per annum.

Pertama Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd (formerly AML Manganese (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd) is the third ferrosilicon alloys producer that is now in operation in Samalaju Industrial Park. According to the company website, Pertama Ferroalloys’ first tapping of ferrosilicon was recorded last month, and the smelter’s full commercial operation would be reached by third quarter-2017,with target production capacity of 240,000 tonnes per annum.

Pertama Ferroalloys is 60% owned by Hong Kong’s Asia Minerals Ltd, and its other shareholders are Japan’s ferromanganese producer Nippon Denka (25%), Malaysia’s Carbon Capital (8%) and Japanese trading company Shinko Shoji (7%).

The two other pioneer investors in Samalaju Industrial Park are Press Metal Bhd, which owns an aluminium smelter, and Japan’s Tokuyama Corp,the owner of a plant that produces polycrystalline silicon for solar cells.