BC Business
Catalyst's Elk Falls mill prior to its shut-down in 2009.
Catalyst’s Elk Falls mill prior to its shut-down in 2009.
Catalyst Paper Corp. has sold its Elk Falls paper mill site to Quicksilver Resources Canada Inc. for $8.6 million.
The Elk Falls mill, near Campbell River on Vancouver Island, was permanently closed in 2009, putting 440 people out of work. At the time, Catalyst cited lack of fibre supply and high costs of energy and labour.
The sale comprises a total of 485 hectares, including the 160-hectare industrial site that housed the pulp and paper mill. The industrial site has been decommissioned, with the removal of chemicals and papermaking equipment.
The Elk Falls mill began operation in 1952 and at its peak produced 784,000 tonnes of pulp and paper annually.
The sale marks a milestone in a restructuring process that began in January 2012 when Catalyst entered creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Under the reorganization the company also sold its paper recycling mill and railway in Snowflake, Arizona, as well as its interest in Powell River Energy Inc.
The company first announced the sale of Elk Falls in August 2012, but that sale to Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals failed to close.
Catalyst exited creditor protection in September 2012. It continues to operate three paper mills in B.C.: in Crofton and Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, and Powell River on the Sunshine Coast.
Quicksilver Resources Canada is the Calgary-based Canadian subsidiary of Quicksilver Resources Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas. The Canadian subsidiary is developing natural gas wells in northeast B.C.