Aluminum Scrap Markets
April 13, 2026
Glencore takes stake in South Carolina aluminum recycling project with Alumicore
Written by Nicholas Bell
Glencore has acquired a 45% stake in an aluminum recycling and remelting plant in South Carolina, expanding its position in US scrap-fed supply chains while bringing in a new operating partner.
Pennsylvania-based Alumicore LLC will hold the remaining 55% stake and operate the facility, Glencore said April 10. The company said it had previously provided funding to the plant in exchange for marketing rights.
Glencore did not identify the facility by name or provide additional details on its location beyond noting that it is near Charleston.
Project structure and prior activity in South Carolina
Glencore has been involved in a South Carolina aluminum recycling partnership with ZEB Metals near Charleston where it held marketing rights, though the company does not reference that partnership in its latest announcement.
In March 2023, state officials announced a joint venture between Glencore and ZEB Metals to establish a scrap- and dross-processing facility near Moncks Corner, located northeast of Charleston. At the time, the project was described as a secondary aluminum remelt operation designed to process dross and other scrap streams that would otherwise be discarded.
A September 2023 presentation by Glencore indicated the facility was expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024.
ZEB Metals was founded in 2021 and, according to state announcements, was relocating operations from Kentucky to Berkeley County as part of the South Carolina project.
Details on that partnership after that period remain limited, and neither company has provided updates on ownership structure or operating roles following the initial announcement.
That earlier arrangement was described as a recycling partnership, with Glencore focused on marketing material produced at the facility rather than holding an ownership stake.
The company’s latest announcement reflects a shift to direct equity participation in a South Carolina recycling project, compared with its earlier role centered on marketing rights.
Glencore’s latest statement does not reference ZEB Metals or ZEB Aluminum and instead names Alumicore as the plant’s operator.
The Berkeley County site is located within a broader industrial corridor that includes several aluminum mills, including JW Aluminum’s Goose Creek mill and Century Aluminum’s Mt. Holly smelter — both of which share the same zip code as ZEB Aluminum. Glencore holds a significant equity position in Century Aluminum, according to a March Section 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Goose Creek facility scope
State permitting records provide additional detail on a secondary aluminum facility in Berkeley County, SC.
A permit issued in 2025 to ZEB Metals authorizes a secondary aluminum operation at a Moncks Corner site that includes two rotary furnaces, shredding equipment, and dross processing systems.
The permit lists two rotary furnaces with production capacities of 7 tons per hour and 5 tons per hour, respectively, along with a shredder rate at 12 tons per hour and a dross crusher.
Installation dates in the permit indicate the furnaces were brought online in stages during 2024, aligning with the timeline outlined in the earlier project announcement.
Public records do not explicitly link the permitted Berkeley County facility to the asset referenced in Glencore’s announcement. However, the permitted operation shares similar characteristics, including location, processing scope, and prior involvement from the company.
Alumicore background
Alumicore was founded in 2021 by CEO Gabe Hudock, who also founded Alumisource, a scrap processing company later acquired by SIMS Metal Management to form SIMS Alumisource.
Alumicore’s existing operations in Monessen, Pa., reflect a similar processing model to secondary aluminum remelt operations centered on rotary furnace melting of scrap and dross.
The facility, located south of Pittsburgh, sits within a larger industrial site that includes SIMS Alumisource, which operates high-capacity shredding and separation systems capable of producing grades such as zorba and twitch.
The co-location of those operations, along with shared background through Hudock’s involvement in Alumisource, points to familiarity with the production and handling of those materials in secondary aluminum processing.
Alumicore’s Monessen site produces a range of alloy families, including 2XXX through 7XXX series materials, as well as recycled scrap ingot (RSI).
State filings indicate the Monessen facility operates under an annual throughput cap of just under 50,000 tons per year, below its nameplate furnace capacity of more than 135,000 tons per year.
Glencore said the South Carolina facility, together with Alumicore’s existing operations, is expected to exceed 120,000 metric tons per year, indicating the South Carolina facility would account for at least the remaining 70,000 tons, assuming full utilization at Monessen.
No timeline or start date for the South Carolina facility was provided in the announcement.
Glencore declined to comment. Alumicore and ZEB Metals did not immediately respond to requests for comment as of publication.
