Iceland

Rio Tinto Says Landsvirkjun’s Anti-Competitive Actions May Lead To Iceland Aluminium Smelter’s Closure

Rio Tinto Says Landsvirkjun’s Anti-Competitive Actions May Lead To Iceland Aluminium Smelter’s Closure

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Group last week filed a formal complaint with the Icelandic government on claims that the firm’s power supplier to the Rio Tinto Iceland Ltd (ISAL) aluminium smelter engaged in anti-competitive behavior. The firm submitted its complaint to...

Events

Norsk Hydro Calls Off US$345-MM Deal To Purchase ISAL From Rio Tinto

A February deal between Norwegian aluminium firm Norsk Hydro A.S.A. and Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Group to buy Rio Tinto Iceland Ltd. (ISAL), a 53-percent stake in Dutch anode facility Aluminium & Chemie Rotterdam B.V. (Aluchemie) and a half interest in Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor AB (Alufluor) to for US$345 million is no […]

Is Winter Coming for Iceland’s Aluminium Smelters?

Despite its location far north of the ecliptic and far distant from the world’s major industrial centers, Iceland has developed a robust and inexpensive energy infrastructure. The island’s location astride two major diverging tectonic plates and atop a massive mantle plume supplies it with an essentially inexhaustible supply of geothermal energy. Centuries-long use of hot […]

Workers at Rio Tinto’s Iceland Smelter to Block Aluminium Exports Over Wage Row

Workers at Rio Tinto’s Straumsvík plant have elected to stop loading aluminium onto shipping vessels starting next Wednesday. This is the latest move in a long-running labor dispute between the unions and plant management. The plant, located in Hafnarfjörður, has a yearly output of 180,000 metric tons and is responsible for fully one quarter of […]