Ontario backs Thunder Bay pulp mill upgrade plans with $2.4m

The Ontario government is providing more than C$2.4 million to support planning for boiler and chemical plant upgrades at Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper. The allocation forms the largest part of a funding package of more than C$2.5 million for three forestry projects in northwestern Ontario under the province’s Forest Biomass Program.

The planned mill upgrades are intended to increase daily kraft pulp production by 11% and create demand for more than 130,000 tonnes of forest biomass annually, according to the provincial announcement. The province also projects a reduction of around 30% in the mill’s use of bleaching chemicals and a cut of more than five million cubic metres a year in natural gas consumption through boiler modernization.

The funding supports the planning of the investments; the announcement does not state that the upgrades have already been installed or that the projected output and environmental gains have been achieved. The government says the three projects collectively support more than 700 direct and 3,350 indirect jobs.

Two other beneficiaries are AUX Energy, which will receive C$92,500 to plan a biomass-powered generation project in Fort Frances, and Weyerhaeuser, which will receive C$32,650 to study production line changes aimed at reducing costs and improving product quality and efficiency.

Norm Bush, CEO of Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper, said the company is assessing projects focused on lower manufacturing costs and greater productivity. Ontario’s financial support, he said, is important as the mill develops the projects.