Cited from:https://www.elkem.cn/about-elkem/42/norway/22/

On January 29, 2024, Elkem announced the restart of one of the three smelting furnaces at its Salten Silicon Plant in Norway. The factory had been shut down since December 10, 2023, due to a fire in a building that stored raw materials, including highly flammable substances.

Elkem stated that one smelting furnace has been restarted, while the status of the other two furnaces remains uncertain, with no confirmed date for resuming operations.

Ove Sordahl, the manager of the Salten plant, said, "The system for blending and transporting raw materials to the two furnaces still requires additional repair work, and we have been preparing for this job. However, we are pleased that one furnace's raw material system was minimally damaged in the fire, allowing us to resume production through temporary measures."

Located in Sørfold municipality, Nordland County, in northern Norway, Elkem's Salten plant is one of the world's largest and most modern silicon plants. It exports metallurgical silicon and silicon powder globally. With three furnaces, the plant has an annual production capacity of 128,000 tons, with silicon accounting for 80,000 tons.

Elkem currently operates six production sites in Norway, including Salten, Rana, Thamshavn, Bremanger, Bjolvefossen, and Kristiansand. Construction of the Salten silicon plant began in the mid-1960s, and the first electric furnace started operations in 1967. An additional furnace was added three years later, with the largest electric furnace commencing silicon production in 1972.