Alcan loses power rights for Iceland expansion

Canadian producer Alcan has lost its exclusive rights to power supplies which would have enabled the company to expand its ISAL smelter. The company's plans to expand the smelter from the current 180,000tpy to 460,000tpy suffered a setback early this year when local residents narrowly voted against the plan. Alcan has since committed to further dialogue with the locals in a bid to win them round but in the interim a January agreement with the Landsvirkjun utility to supply most of the expansion's power needs has expired.