NYDIG Plans Acquisition of New York Smelting Plant

Alcoa is negotiating the sale of a New York smelting plant to NYDIG.

Alcoa, a leading American aluminum producer, is in discussions to sell an inactive smelting plant in New York state to New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), according to Bloomberg.

Bill Oplinger, CEO of the metallurgical firm, stated that the deal for the Massena East facility on the banks of the St. Lawrence River is expected to be finalized by mid-year.

The facility was powered by hydroelectricity from the New York Power Authority. The company shuttered the plant in 2014 as it ceased to be profitable.

Simultaneously, Alcoa is attempting to sell other former metallurgical sites in the United States, with a total of 10 facilities up for sale.

The company is capitalizing on the growing interest in energy infrastructure from data center operators, while the domestic aluminum industry stagnates. Demand for decommissioned sites has surged amid the growth of mining, AI, and cloud computing, which require substantial electricity.

In February, Century Aluminum sold its smelting plant in Hawesville, Kentucky, to TeraWulf for $200 million and a 6.8% minority stake.

For NYDIG, the acquisition will bolster its position in cryptocurrency mining. Unlike many miners transitioning to high-performance computing, the firm remains committed to Bitcoin mining.

In October 2024, NYDIG acquired a strategic stake in Coinmint, which provides colocation services and equipment management with a capacity of 435 MW.

In December, the company purchased mining capacities of 120 MW from Consensus Technology Group in 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.

In the first quarter of 2026, mining companies sold a record 32,000 BTC.