Northern Ontario paper mill to idle operations, citing lack of financial support

Five years ago this week, many in the Strait of Canso area breathed a collective sigh of relief when its largest single employer restarted production after a yearlong shutdown. The reopening of what is now Port Hawkesbury Paper came after a year of legal wrangling and negotiations with the various groups that have a stake in the future of the mill, formerly NewPage Port Hawkesbury, which had shut down when its parent company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. It’s a very different company than when it shut down in September 2011. Only one of the mill’s two paper machines — the newer supercalendered machine that produces paper for the magazine and catalogue market — went back into production, cutting the number of employees by about half to around 300. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Red Leaf Pulp Ltd., developer of a proprietary low-carbon pulping process, and Valmet, Ltd. have signed a long-term Teaming Agreement to exclusively collaborate and pursue commercialization of Red Leaf's innovative ag-based pulping process in North America, employing Valmet's fiberline and other value-added equipment. Red Leaf's initial plant in Regina Saskatchewan is expected to start commercial production in 2023 and will have the capacity to produce 600 tonnes per day of market pulp from waste wheat straw collected and aggregated from local producers.

Chief Executive Officer John D. Romano commented, “Tronox’s second quarter performance was consistent with our previous guidance and demonstrated the continued recovery across both TiO2 and zircon. Our TiO2 volumes increased 8% compared to the first quarter, or 16% compared to the prior year quarter, as we continued to see demand increase across all regions, consistent with seasonal trends. Zircon demand remained relatively stable compared to the first quarter. Pricing for both TiO2 and zircon increased from the first quarter into the second, as expected, partially offset by unfavorable mix. We generated $84 million in free cash flow in the quarter and returned $41 million to shareholders in the form of dividends. “On the operations side, our average pigment plant utilization rate in the second quarter was lower than targeted, driven by short-term challenges relating to ramping up our assets. As a result, we incurred higher costs in the second quarter than anticipated and delivered Adjusted EBITDA at the lower end of our guided range. While this will impact the margins of pigment sold in the third quarter, the operating challenges we experienced during the ramp up in the second quarter are resolved, and our average pigment plant utilization rate for July was in the range of 80%.”