Resolute indefinitely idles newsprint mill

The forest products company Resolute Forest Products Inc., headquartered in Montreal, has announced the indefinite idling of its newsprint mill in Thorold, Ontario. The company had taken downtime at the operation since the middle of this past December. The facility has an annual production capacity of about 197,000 metric tons of 100 percent recycled content newsprint.

The idling of the mill is effective immediately.

The company cites the ongoing decline in North American newsprint consumption, coupled with the increasing cost of recovered paper as a raw material, for its indefinite closure of the mill.

With the closure of the Thorold recycled newsprint mill, Resolute no longer operates any 100 percent recycled newsprint mills in North America. The company had been operating a recycled newsprint mill in Korea but closed that facility as well.

Resolute says it is collaborating with Stone House Investments Holdings Inc., an independent third party interested in converting the Thorold mill to produce an alternative product. Resolute says such a conversion would provide a more sustainable future for the operation, its workforce and the surrounding community.

A spokesman for Resolute could not comment on when there may be further decision on what the alternative product would be.