Silicon facility opens in North Miss.

The first silicon metal manufacturing facility built in the U.S. in more than 40 years is up and running in the North Mississippi town of Burnsville, about 100 miles from Memphis. The $200 million Mississippi Silicon plant began startup operations in late September on a 94-acre site in Tishomingo County. The plant is a joint venture between the Vicitin family of Brazil and CleanTech LLC. The largest single use of Silicon is as an alloy material in various grades of aluminum, mostly aluminum used for things like automotive components and aerospace products. (Source: Memphis Daily News 11/01/15)