Alcoa’s chief executive Bill Oplinger said in an interview with Bloomberg that the company is in discussions to sell Massena East, its idle aluminum smelter upstate New York. The firm will mine bitcoins. interview.
Massena East is located on the St. Lawrence River. It has not operated since 2014. This closure was the result of sustained pressures from rising energy costs, global competition and a reduction in domestic aluminum production. This facility covers approximately 1,300 acres, and has a heavy electrical infrastructure designed for industrial continuous use.
Alcoa pursues a wider plan to sell off a collection of US smelter properties that have been idle for some time. The company is pursuing a broader plan to divest a group of idle US smelter assets. identified The company is looking to sell ten sites that are dormant as they shift their focus towards higher-margin businesses and lower exposures of high-cost, legacy assets. Massena East is one of those most advanced projects.
NYDIG, an online bitcoin services provider linked to Stone Ridge has expanded its presence In the past two decades, there has been a substantial increase in investment into industrial-scale infrastructure. Through partnerships and acquisitions the firm gained exposure to mining operations, such as involvement with Coinmint on the Massena Campus under a lease agreement tied to power output.
Massena East’s smelter is powered by the hydropower of New York Power Authority. This access to a stable supply of electricity is a major factor in the value that smelters have for mining digital assets. The grid connection of aluminum smelters is often intact even after they have shut down. This means that the energy requirements are constant and large. The infrastructure is more easily converted to data centers or mining.
NYDIG owns a significant stake in Coinmint which operates the bitcoin mining facility at Massena. Coinmint hosts mining clients as part of existing agreements linked to Alcoa property and power contracts. NYDIG would gain control over the smelter and increase its footprint across the region.
Alcoa has discussed with NYDIG the terms of a transfer that would include ownership over land, remaining industrial assets, and electrical systems. Both parties hope to finish the transaction by mid-year, subject to final agreements and regulatory actions.
Bitcoin Mining and High Performance Computing
The sale proposal follows a trend that is sweeping North America, whereby retired aluminum plants and heavy industrial sites have been converted into digital infrastructure. These sites have large power connections and access to transmission, as well as industrial zones that are suitable for high-performance computer workloads and bitcoin mining.
Century Aluminum completed TeraWulf purchased a similar smelter in Hawesville (Kentucky) for the purpose of transforming it into a campus and datacenter. This deal was a reflection of the growing demand for energy-secured sites.
NYDIG has continued to grow its Bitcoin mining position through the purchase of assets linked to power and operations in several US states. The company has expanded its mining operations in North Dakota (including South Dakota), Pennsylvania, Missouri and North Dakota.
The Alcoa–NYDIG deal, if completed, would place one of the largest US aluminum production sites under bitcoin mining ownership and extend the reuse of legacy industrial power infrastructure for digital asset operations.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
