CMX to reopen Colonial copper foundry

California Metal-X (CMX) plans to reopen in May the Pennsylvania copper foundry it recently acquired from Colonial Metals, marking the company's first foray into the east coast.

CMX will produce high-quality copper casting alloys at the Columbia, Pennsylvania, facility. In addition to acquiring Colonial's assets, CMX paid the company's remaining debts to allow the company to avoid bankruptcy, president Tim Strelitz told Argus.

Colonial Metals shuttered in June 2018 because of financial difficulties. Its Columbia foundry is the only brass and bronze manufacturing facility with a submerged electric arc furnace, which was used to recover low-grade copper scrap.

At the time of its closure, the facility was processing an estimated 90mn lbs of scrap metal per year.

CMX is the largest red metal, brass and bronze ingot manufacturer on the west coast, with an annual production capacity of more than 36mn lbs.