Silicon Metal (553, 441 & 3303)

Metallurgical silicon by Fe, Al and Ca: 553 for aluminium alloys, 441 and 3303 for chemicals

Silicon metal is sold by the impurities it does not contain, and its grade names are the ceilings. Under the Chinese standard GB/T 2881-2014, which the trade uses worldwide, 553 means Fe 0.5%, Al 0.5% and Ca 0.3% maximum, with silicon around 98.5%; 441 tightens that to 0.4 / 0.4 / 0.1; and 3303 to about 0.3% Fe, 0.3% Al and 0.03% Ca, with organosilicon buyers writing it as Fe ≤ 400 ppm, Al ≤ 400 ppm and Ca ≤ 30 ppm. The grade decides the buyer. Secondary and primary aluminium alloy plants buy 553 to make casting alloys; silicone and chlorosilane producers buy 441 and 3303, because calcium and aluminium poison the direct-process reactor; polysilicon producers want tighter still. Lumps of 10–50 mm are standard, with powder ground to the reactor's mesh for chemical buyers. It is not ferrosilicon: FeSi 75 carries a quarter of its weight in iron and goes into steel; silicon metal carries under 1% iron and goes into aluminium and chemistry.

UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2804.69 total about USD 3.48 billion, led by China at 38.3%, Norway at 14.0%, Brazil at 13.4% and France at 6.7%, with Canada, Australia, Malaysia and South Africa behind. Trade remedies shape which origin fits which destination. In the United States, the antidumping order on silicon metal from China has been in place since 1991 and was continued after the 2023 sunset review; antidumping orders on Angola and Laos and a countervailing duty order on Laos apply from April 2026; the US International Trade Commission made affirmative final injury determinations on Australia and Norway, published 19 August 2026; and the Thailand countervailing duty case was terminated as negligible. Buyers importing into the US check these before choosing an origin. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers 553, 441 and 3303 silicon metal from smelter and trader allocations against SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek analysis of Si, Fe, Al, Ca and trace elements, with a certificate of origin naming the smelter; where the buyer asks for it, forced-labour and origin due diligence documents are part of the file. Supply is in 1 MT jumbo bags in 20-foot containers on FOB, CFR and CIF terms. Price is negotiated per lot; buyers commonly reference Fastmarkets, Argus or SMM silicon metal assessments. Send your grade, destination country, size or mesh and monthly tonnage and we will work the smelter to it.

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Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.