Alcoa is in talks to sell its idle Massena East aluminum smelter in upstate New York to bitcoin mining firm NYDIG, according to comments from Alcoa chief executive Bill Oplinger in a Bloomberg interview.

The Massena East site sits along the St. Lawrence River and has been out of operation since 2014. The closure followed sustained pressure from high energy costs and global competition that reduced domestic aluminum production. The facility spans about 1,300 acres and contains heavy electric