Resolute Forest Products will build a new sawmill in the Atikokan area, according to Resolute president and CEO Richard Garneau.
The mill will employ about 90 people, with additional indirect jobs related to hauling lumber and residual chips.
The company pegs the cost to build the mill at about $50 million. Resolute is completing the final selection for a site, but expects to begin construction this spring. It is hoped to be finished by early 2014.
“We believe in our solid wood business and are taking action to grow and improve it,” Garneau said. “The new random-length sawmill will complement our existing lumber product mix in Ontario.”
The company said the Atikokan sawmill will also contribute to the long-term competitiveness of Resolute’s pulp and paper operations in Thunder Bay through the supply of residual chips, and support efforts to reposition the currently idled pulp mill in Fort Frances.
From CBC News Canada: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2013/01/31/tby-thunderbay-atikokan-resolute-announcement.html