KUCHING: OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd has temporarily suspended production at the first silicon metal furnace at its ferro alloy smelting plant in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu.
The reason of the suspension is due to the furnace not operating as anticipated within the framework of the engineering, procurement and construction contract, said its parent company OM Holdings Ltd (OMH).
“A comprehensive examination is being conducted to identify the issues which arose during commissioning. OM Sarawak aims to complete these rectifications and successfully commission the furnace within the next 12 months.
“All other resources relating to the silicon metal furnace have been redeployed to operate and support the other 12 furnaces (out of 16 furnaces) that are in operation.
“In view of the above, the suspension of the hot commissioning (of the furnace) is not expected to have a material impact on the company’s financial results for FY2023,” it added in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
The first silicon metal furnace was modified and converted from an idle ferro alloy furnace and has started undergoing the hot commissioning phase late last year. A second silicon metal furnace has also been converted recently.
OM Sarawak has allocated six units of furnaces for the production of ferro silicon (FeSi), eight units of furnaces for the production of manganese alloys and two units for silicon metal, a higher value-added product.
The smelting plant currently has a design capacity to produce approximately 120,000 to 126,000 tonnes of FeSi, 333,000 to 400,000 tonnes of manganese alloys, and 21,000 to 24,500 tonnes of silicon metal per annum.
The plant also consists of a sinter plant that has a design capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes of sinter ore per annum.
According to OMH earlier, eight of the furnaces will undergo major maintenance in phases throughout 2023 and they will be shut down in stages to minimise disruptions to on-going operation at the plant.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd (SCIB) had placed out 25 million new ordinary shares at RM0.1078 per placement shares.
The company plans to place out up to 82.72 million new ordinary shares or 10 per cent of its total issued shares to third party investor(s) to raise fund for its working capital requirements and to repay bank borrowings.
Based on an earlier indicative issue price of RM0.1327 per placement share, the fund-raising exercise could raise up to nearly RM11 million.
The amount of money raised, however, will be lower if the placement shares are priced below RM0.1327.
SCIB group’s core businesses are in the manufacturing and sales of precast concrete products as well as industrialised building system (IBS).
