Controversial Benson aluminum plant halted

Aluminum Dynamics, Inc., owned by Indiana-based corporation Steel Dynamics Inc. announced it will cease developing its secondary smelter in the city and instead look elsewhere to build the plant. Benson is about 50 miles southeast of Tucson.

“Due to differences with some Arizona state officials that risked the construction and operations of the facility in Benson, Arizona, Aluminum Dynamics, Inc. has decided not to move forward with construction of the recycling slab center in Benson,” the company said in an emailed statement. “The facility will instead be developed at an alternative location.”

The company also said that with the anticipated need for recycled aluminum slabs beginning in 2027, it decided it was necessary to choose an alternative location.

“We are grateful for the time and support of the City of Benson, Mayor Joe A. Konrad, local officials, community members, and those that applied for potential positions at the facility,” the company said.

The announcement came one month after Benson residents recalled half of their council. Voters said they were angry with the approval of the project, which they say was riddled with transparency issues.

The project proposed a sprawling $190 million aluminum recycling plant in Benson on 200 acres of land. It would have been located near the southeast corner of Arizona 80 and the Interstate 10 Business Loop.

The plant would have produced aluminum ingots, large metal blocks from recycled aluminum scrap, that would be sent to the company’s mill being constructed in Mississippi.

This is not the first time an Arizona municipality has rejected a proposed development from Aluminum Dynamics. The company previously attempted to establish a similar plant in Gila Bend but was rejected after the town council imposed 33 safety stipulations.

Benson residents said they found out about the project after the company had already leased the land for the facility and after an application for a conditional use permit to build an 88-foot-high building had already been submitted. Residents said they worried about environmental and public health issues from living so close to an industrial plant.

These concerns led to a visit from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who hosted a town hall on the project in Benson in October 2025.

Mayes also met with the company in April 2026. The details of the meeting were not made public.

Residents and local grassroots organization Health Over Wealth Benson filed a lawsuit against the town. The lawsuit filed in August 2025 alleged the City of Benson Planning and Zoning Commission issued an illegal Conditional Use Permit to Steel Dynamics Inc. for the project.

A Cochise County superior court judge dismissed the case in April 2026, ruling the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to bring the case. Residents appealed the ruling in May.

Residents took to Facebook group No Benson Aluminum Plant to rejoice in the news that the development had been halted.

"The nightmare is over and Benson wins! No Aluminum Plant!!!" wrote Facebook user Starla Colwell on June 17.

Misty Bloom, who co-founded Health Over Wealth Benson, wrote a heartfelt message of thanks to other Benson residents.

"I’m almost at a loss for words. Think of all the letters you wrote, all the calls you made, meetings you attended over the last year," Bloom wrote on June 16. "This is the Benson I know and love."