Alcan's expansion of Iceland smelter voted out

Canadian producer Alcan's planned expansion of its 179,000tpy Straumsvik smelter in Iceland has been blocked by a no-vote by residents of the nearby town of Hafnarfjordur.

A weekend vote generated a small 50.6% majority among the 12,747 people who voted against an expansion of what is the country's oldest smelter, according to local media reports.

Alcan, which inherited the smelter when it bought with Swiss producer Alusuisse in 2000, has indicated that the smelter's years would be numbered in the event it could not go ahead with the expansion.