Paper Excellence has confirmed that it will not move forward with its previously announced plans to restart the Prince Albert pulp mill. Instead, the company is exploring options to divest the facility due to current market and economic conditions.
“This was a difficult decision that was made with a lot of thought and care. After a significant amount of planning, engineering, and economic study, we could not produce a viable economic business case to proceed with the project as previously planned”, Paper Excellence stated.
In February 2021, the company had announced its intention to restart the mill by 2023. This optimism was further boosted the following year when the federal energy minister, after a tour of the facility, had highlighted the potential creation of 1,700 jobs.
However, Paper Excellence clarified that the market demand for unbleached kraft pulp (UKP), the type of pulp that the Prince Albert facility would produce, remains weak. The company also noted the competitive pressure from lower-cost producers in other regions of the world.
“While prices are currently stable, the market is relatively small. Injecting additional capacity would only further soften the market, which is why we cannot justify the significant costs associated with the restart project”, the company explained.
