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By Mark A. Leon | Charleston Daily
Glencore’s interest in aluminum is hardly new.
The global commodities company has maintained relationships with Venezuela’s aluminum sector dating back decades and has previously provided financing directly to producers there. But while attention is now turning to Glencore’s renewed interest in Venezuelan aluminum, the company has been quietly expanding another part of its aluminum strategy much closer to Charleston.
In April, Glencore announced that it had acquired a 45% stake in an aluminum recycling and remelting operation near Charleston, South Carolina, giving the Switzerland-based commodities giant a direct ownership position in a growing U.S. recycling operation. Alumicore holds the remaining 55% and operates the facility.
The investment builds on a relationship Glencore established in Berkeley County several years ago.
In 2023, ZEB Metals announced plans to establish a new South Carolina operation near Highway 52 in Moncks Corner, creating 28 jobs as part of a joint venture with Glencore. The facility was designed to process aluminum dross and other secondary aluminum scrap that otherwise could have ended up in landfills. State officials described it as the first secondary aluminum remelt facility of its kind in the Southeast.
The project represented an early indication that Glencore saw more than traditional aluminum production in the Charleston region. It saw an opportunity in the growing market for recycled metal.
That strategy has now evolved.
According to Linklaters, which advised Glencore on the 2026 transaction, the deal included the acquisition of the business of ZEB Aluminum and the creation of an aluminum recycling joint venture with Alumicore. The joint venture owns and operates a recycling and remelting complex near Charleston.
For the Charleston region, the property represents another piece of the area’s expanding industrial and logistics economy.
Aluminum recycling is particularly important because recycled aluminum can re-enter the manufacturing supply chain without requiring the energy-intensive process used to produce primary aluminum from raw materials. The Berkeley County project was specifically designed to recover aluminum from scrap and dross, turning material that might otherwise be discarded into a usable industrial product.
Glencore’s move also comes at a time when the United States is looking for more secure domestic sources of aluminum.
The company already owns a 30% stake in U.S. aluminum producer Century Aluminum, and the South Carolina investment gives Glencore another position further down the supply chain — in recycling, remelting and the recovery of secondary aluminum.
The significance of the Charleston-area property, therefore, extends beyond the facility itself.
It places Glencore closer to U.S. scrap supplies, industrial customers and a domestic market increasingly focused on strengthening the aluminum supply chain. The company previously provided funding for the South Carolina facility in exchange for marketing rights. Its decision to take a 45% ownership stake represents a deeper commitment to the operation and to recycled aluminum in the United States.
For Berkeley County and the greater Charleston region, that could make the property an increasingly important part of the Lowcountry’s industrial landscape.
Glencore’s history with Venezuelan aluminum may stretch back decades, but its investment near Charleston shows where part of the company’s future aluminum strategy may be headed — toward recycling, domestic supply and a growing U.S. industrial footprint.
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