The largest American aluminum producer, Alcoa, is in talks to sell an inactive smelter in New York State to the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). This was reported by Bloomberg.
According to Alcoa's CEO, Bill Oplinger, the deal for the Massena East facility on the St. Lawrence River is expected to close by mid-year.
The Massena East plant previously sourced hydroelectric power from the New York Power Authority. The facility was shut down in 2014 due to unprofitability.
Meanwhile, Alcoa is also looking to sell other former metallurgical sites in the U.S., with a total of 10 facilities on the market.
The company is capitalizing on the growing interest in energy infrastructure from data center operators, as the aluminum industry in the country stagnates. The demand for decommissioned facilities has surged due to the rise of mining, AI, and cloud computing, all of which require substantial energy.
For instance, in February, Century Aluminum sold its smelter in Hawesville, Kentucky, to TeraWulf for $200 million and a 6.8% minority stake.
For NYDIG, this acquisition will strengthen its position in cryptocurrency mining. Unlike many miners shifting to high-performance computing, the firm remains committed to Bitcoin mining.
In October 2024, NYDIG acquired a strategic stake in Coinmint, which provides colocation and equipment management services with a capacity of 435 MW.
In December, the company purchased mining capacity of 120 MW from Consensus Technology Group across North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. In March 2025, the firm announced a definitive agreement to acquire Crusoe Energy's business, adding 270 MW.
Notably, in the first quarter of 2026, mining companies sold a record 32,000 BTC.