Dear Stocknews101,

I see from your several posts you are as excited as we are and falling all over yourself in your excitement.  Join the club.

First and foremost, we agree that Silicon Carbide is not a metal.  We also agree that it causes problems in solar silicon wafers.

However, the original post which you are referencing had to do with Oxygen and Carbon content and we answered the question from that perspective.  We noted therein that Purity measurements do not measure for such elements as Oxygen and Carbon since Purity is defined based on metallic impurities only … I believe we answered the original post correctly, and in fact, given the response to our answer, it seems the poster was more than satisfied.

Now to attend to your question, which has a touch of excitement in the tone (how can you guys claim you have up to 4N purity, if you have no idea about how much Carbon is in the Silicon…which will form Silicon Carbide?)

First, we can claim we have 4N purity because we do, as purity is defined and accepted as a reference by those that know and care. I am happy to report that it is not much more complicated than that.

Second, Silicon carbide is not entirely a bad thing.  Let me explain:  Silicon carbide is an intermediate product in the silicon metal carbothermal reduction process…ie the one-step process we are developing.  Quartz (The silicon dioxide) reacts with carbon to form SiC.  The SiC is then reduced to CO and Silicon metal (Si) through several reactions, for example, as in the following reaction: SiC(s)+ SiO(g) -> 2Si(l)+CO(g).  So, you see, Silicon Carbide is a natural step in the process, but as you noted, it is something that we wish to separate out.

In the very early stages we did see that some silicon carbide was present in our end-product but, after some adjustments, there has been no silicon carbide observed in the Silicon metal chunks tested for over a year now, and on which we have reported purity.  In essence, in our opinion, we have isolated Silicon Carbide in such a manner as it no longer poses a threat and we are confident this will remain the case as we scale up.

I trust this answers your question and that you are even more excited than you were before.  I just want to underscore a general point here.  First, we are building on successes one step at a time, and in a very methodical and purposeful manner.  This is what we do well.  Second, when we report on successes, such as Purity levels, and do not report on various other aspects of development, it would not be wise to infer that we are suggesting we have found all the answers….we are merely reporting on step by step successes which give us, the innovators, confidence that we are on the right track…and confidence we enjoy sharing with you.

Thank-you once again for the time you took to post here, and the interest you have taken in what we are doing.  After all, a well-informed investor is the best investor.

I look forward to hearing from you again. 

Sincerely,

P. Peter Pascali

CEO

PyroGenesis Canada Inc.