MetalX's planned slab plant shelved as site goes up for sale

An official with Defiance County Economic Development referred AMU to MetalX for comment. A MetalX spokesperson said the project was “on hold” and that additional details weren’t available.

Project overview

In April 2023, MetalX and Manna Capital Partners jointly announced plans to invest more than $200 million in a slab-rolling plant, later selecting Defiance County as the preferred site. The facility was designed to produce roughly 100,000 metric tons of ultra-low-carbon aluminum rolling slab per year, incorporating a higher share of recycled content than typical primary aluminum feedstock.

Target markets included beverage packaging, automotive sheet, and select industrial and specialty products. The proposed complex would have included a dedicated scrap-processing and logistics operation in partnership with Page Trucking. It would have formed part of a $300-million recycling campus that aimed to provide closed-loop aluminum recovery for regional manufacturers.

Site for sale

Another indication of the project’s status: The Enterprise Industrial Park site in Defiance County – where the facility was slated to be built – is now listed for sale on ZoomProspector. The website lists contact information for both the Regional Growth Partnership and Defiance County Economic Development, the same organizations that supported the project during its planning stages.

In a recent public meeting agenda, one item was titled “MetalX’s heirs have decided to sell EIP ground,” which suggests the property’s ownership is being transitioned.

Industry observers note the decision may reflect a range of factors, from shifting market conditions and capital costs to organizational transitions following the passing of MetalX’s founder and CEO, Danny Rifkin, whose leadership and experience were widely regarded in the metals community.

Technical scope

The proposal remains noteworthy for its ambition, which sought to bridge the gap between scrap processing and high-value rolling inputs.

Construction was expected to begin in 2023, with operations anticipated by 2026-2027. Local Ohio economic organizations and non-profits had championed the project. If completed, the project would have been among the few globally to attempt such large-scale secondary slab production, aligning with industry efforts to reduce carbon intensity and increase domestic recycling capacity.

Manna Capital connection

The Defiance project followed an earlier announcement by Manna Capital Partners in 2022, when the firm revealed plans for a $2-billion aluminum can sheet rolling mill in Los Lunas, New Mexico, in partnership with Ball Corp.

That project received early attention and local support but never advanced to construction.

While no formal statements were issued, local official in Los Lunas later said privately the deal had fallen through. No further updates or clarifications were provided by the companies involved.

The quiet suspension of both the Los Lunas and Defiance projects exhibits the challenges associated with financing and executing large-scale aluminum investments, which require substantial infrastructure, power access, and supply-chain commitments.

MetalX history

In May 2022, MetalX expanded its aluminum blueprint with the acquisition of SRT Aluminum in Wabash, Ind., marking a major step in its shift toward the nonferrous sector following the sale of its steel recycling assets to Australian steelmaker BlueScope.

SRT Aluminum converted aluminum scrap into remelt scrap ingot (RSI) in sow and ingot form, with an annual capacity of about 70,000 metric tons. The purchase gave MetalX in-house melting and casting capabilities, enabling the company to handle close to 160,000 metric tons per year of nonferrous scrap, primarily aluminum and copper.

Slab landscape

Today, Century Aluminum’s Sebree smelter in Kentucky is the only U.S. facility still producing primary aluminum slab, accounting for roughly two-tenths of one percent of global output, according to CRU Group data. (Editor’s note: CRU is the parent company of AMU and SMU.)

The vast majority of primary slab produced for North American rolling operations originates from Canada, across multiple facilities owned by Rio Tinto and Alcoa. Together, they account for the bulk of the region’s primary slab supply. In recent years, U.S. rolling mills have operated as remelt slab facilities, melting feedstock to cast slab forms of specific alloys. This remelt route represents the majority of domestic slab capacity, which has stepped in to meet the sharply growing demand for slab in the U.S.