AMU
July 17, 2026
Aluminum Dynamics sets Mississippi site for relocated recycled slab center
Written by Nicholas Bell
This piece was first published by Aluminum Market Update (AMU), SMU’s nonferrous sister publication. To learn about AMU, visit their website or sign up for a free trial.
Aluminum Dynamics plans to invest more than $200 million to develop a recycled slab center in Lowndes County, Miss., establishing the permanent location for a project relocated from Arizona earlier this year.
The facility will be built at the Golden Triangle Industrial Park and is expected to begin operations during the first half of 2027.
According to the Mississippi Development Authority, the project represents more than $200 million in investment.
The slab center will be located within the existing Columbus manufacturing footprint operated by parent company, Steel Dynamics Inc.
The industrial corridor surrounding Golden Triangle Regional Airport also includes Aluminum Dynamics’ rolling mill, Steel Dynamics’ Columbus steel mill, Mississippi Steel Processing and New Process Steel’s Columbus facility.
Mississippi permitting preceded announcement
Steel Dynamics had already begun preparing the Mississippi site before publicly announcing the relocation, according to state permit records.
The project, identified in Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) records as “Project Phoenix,” submitted a Large Construction Notice of Intent on March 16 for construction activities covering about 267.9 acres. The application describes the planned operation as a recycled aluminum ingot casting center.
MDEQ issued a construction stormwater permit coverage at the end of April, while the project’s draft air construction permit entered public comment in June.
Relocation supports Columbus operations
The announcement follows Steel Dynamics’ June disclosure that it would relocate a planned recycled aluminum slab casting center from Benson, Ariz., to Columbus, Miss., and record a $16 million second quarter asset write-down.
At the time, the company said differences with Arizona state officials factored into its decision to move. The Arizona facility had been designed to produce 150,000 metric tons of recycled aluminum slab annually to supply Aluminum Dynamics’ 650,000-metric-ton-per-year rolling mill in Columbus.
Steel Dynamics also operates a second recycled slab casting center in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, that was developed to support the Aluminum Dynamics Columbus rolling mill.
The Mississippi announcement identifies the permanent location for the relocated facility while providing the project’s first public investment, employment and construction timeline.