Electrical
July 2, 2026
Magnitude 7 Metals plans partial restart of New Madrid smelter
Written by Nicholas Bell
Magnitude 7 Metals plans to restart potline one at its Marston, Mo., primary aluminum smelter (“New Madrid”) before the end of 2026, returning approximately 75,000 metric tons per year of production after the facility was fully idled in early 2024.
The planned restart was announced July 1.
The American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA), whose program partners include Magnitude 7 Metals and Century Aluminum, welcomed the announcement.
APAA said the restart, together with Century Aluminum’s recent ramp up of previously idled capacity at its Mt. Holly, SC, smelter, would increase US primary aluminum production by more than 20%.
David Kaplan of Otto von Blue, owner of Magnitude 7 Metals, said the company expects the first potline to return to operation before year-end 2026. Kaplan in a statement attributed the investment to the Trump administration 50% Section 232 aluminum tariff.
Restart returns one of three potlines
New Madrid has remained fully idle since 2024, when Magnitude 7 Metals halted production after its power agreement was not renewed.
According to the SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial Materials, the smelter has a nameplate capacity of 263,000 metric tons per year. CRU Group’s Aluminum Smelter Power Tariffs Cost Service lists the facility as comprising three potlines containing over 500 reduction pots.
Before production was idled, the facility mainly produced ingot rather than value-added products, such as billet or slab.
The latest announcement refers only to the restart of potline one and an additional 75,000 metric tons per year of production.
The company did not specify whether additional potlines are scheduled to restart or whether new long-term power arrangements have been completed.
Restart follows earlier phased return to production
This marks the second time Magnitude 7 Metals has announced plans to restart production at the Marston facility following the introduction of Section 232 aluminum tariffs.
In March 2018, shortly after the US announced a 10% tariff on imported aluminum, Magnitude 7 Metals said it would restart the first of the plant’s three potlines during the second quarter, followed by a second potline during the third quarter.
At the time, the company said the third potlines would restart if market conditions allowed and described the project as a phased return over two years.
Plant history and power costs
Following the 2018 restart, the company also announced a four-year power supply agreement with Associated Electric Cooperative.
Former owner Noranda Aluminum idled the facility in 2016 after a prolonged dispute over electricity rates with Ameren Missouri and later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. ARG International subsequently acquired the smelter through bankruptcy proceedings and established Magnitude 7 Metals to operate the facility.
Missouri lawmakers subsequently approved legislation allowing electric utilities to negotiate lower rates with large industrial consumers, subject to regulatory approval.
Rather than pursuing that process, Magnitude 7 Metals signed a power purchase agreement with Associated Electric Cooperative, a member-owned electric cooperative that is not fully regulated by the Missouri Public Service Commission.
The agreement supported the 2018 restart, but Magnitude 7 Metals announced it would idle the plant’s remaining operating pots following the expiration of its power supply agreement. At the time, the company said electricity represented around 40% of primary aluminum production costs.
New Madrid was the second plant to idle in less than two years after Century Aluminum suspended operations at its Hawesville, Ky., smelter in 2022 because of elevated electricity costs.
Alubar and wire rod
The smelter adjoins an aluminum wire rod facility, Alubar Metals Missouri, which continued producing aluminum rod after the smelter idled in 2024.
According to state permitting records issued in October 2024, Alubar modified Rod Mill No. 3 to allow production from aluminum ingots in addition to molten aluminum through the installation of a new melting furnace and ingot preheaters.
Before Noranda Aluminum entered bankruptcy proceedings, the adjoining wire rod operation and the primary smelter operated under common ownership.
The Brazil-based parent company, Alubar, purchased the aluminum rod facility in 2022 before undergoing expansion in 2023.
Industry group comments
APAA President Mark Duffy said the New Madrid restart and Century Aluminum’s recent restart of previously idled capacity at Mt. Holly would expand domestic primary aluminum production and described the announcement as a result of the Section 232 tariff.
Separately, the SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial material said the restart would return the US to five operating primary aluminum smelters once fully ramped and called domestic primary aluminum production a national security priority.
SAFE also pointed to Century Aluminum’s Mt. Holly restart while stating that additional domestic smelting capacity, including Century’s proposed joint venture smelter with Emirates Global Aluminium in Oklahoma, remains necessary to expand US primary aluminum production.
