Missouri aluminum smelter restart announced
A company called Magnitude 7 Metals intends to restart an idled primary aluminum smelter and potline in southeastern Missouri.
Growth in United States production of primary aluminum, one of the stated goals of tariffs placed on imported aluminum, may soon get a boost in the southeastern corner of Missouri.
Magnitude 7 Metals, the owner of a primary smelting facility in Marston, Missouri, that previously was operated by Noranda, has announced plans to restart production there.
“Today’s announcement represents more than the return of production—it reflects renewed confidence in America’s industrial strength and future,” says David Kaplan from Delaware-based Otto von Blue LLC, the owner of Magnitude 7 Metals.
He continues, “We are proud to restore critical domestic aluminum capacity, creating hundreds of new good-paying manufacturing jobs in Marston, Missouri, and invest in the long-term resilience of American manufacturing. President Trump’s 50 percent aluminum tariff has created the conditions for that investment.”
The facility has been closed since 2024, reportedly in part because Magnitude was having difficult paying for clean air-related environmental compliance costs.
The potential reopening of a 75,000 tons per year potline or smelting production line is being applauded by some metals industry trade groups but met with caution by non-governmental organizations concerned about pollution.
“Restarting the Magnitude 7 aluminum smelter in the Missouri bootheel is a game changer for families in Missouri and is critically important for U.S. national security,” says Mark Duffy, president of the Washington-based American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA).
Referring to another recently announced investment in primary production, Duffy adds, “Combined with Century Aluminum’s restart of capacity at Mt. Holly [South Carolina], domestic primary aluminum production will grow by more than 20 percent, launching a new resurgence for American aluminum manufacturing.”
Joe Quinn, the executive director of another Washington-based trade group called SAFE, also mentions Century Aluminum before adding, “We need the new Century-EGA smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, to break ground, and we need a serious policy agenda to back it up.”
Regarding potential air pollution, Jenn DeRose of the California-based Sierra Club issued a statement saying in part, “We are excited about the potential for union jobs that will return to this part of the state, and we want to see those jobs stick around. Long-term economic investment will be more likely if this operation is powered by clean energy, especially solar and storage. Powering the smelter with clean energy will help ensure the smelter’s long-term viability by leveraging affordable, fixed-cost energy, and cleaner air for everyone who lives in New Madrid County [Missouri] and beyond.”
It is unclear what effects growth in U.S. primary production will have on America’s recycled-content secondary aluminum sector.
Energy-intensive American primary production has declined by losing market share to nations with more affordable energy costs, including Canada and Middle East nations.
Recycled-content production typically requires far less energy. Additionally, with the U.S. producing a surplus of aluminum scrap, secondary producers have ready, domestic access to the raw material they need.
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