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Domtar breaks off negotiations to sell Prince Albert mill

Discussions between Iogen and Domtar regarding the purchase of Domtar’s closed mill in Prince Albert, Sask., h…

Discussions between Iogen and Domtar regarding the purchase of Domtar’s closed mill in Prince Albert, Sask., have ceased. Iogen was considering the site for building an ethanol production facility.
“In terms of the plant itself, the former pulp and paper mill in Saskatchewan, which had been identified as a preferred site, Domtar, informed us in August that the site would no longer be available to us,” said Larry Lalonde, spokesman for Shell Canada, in a report in the Prince Albert Herald. “As a result of that, Shell and Iogen are reviewing potential alternative sites.”
Shell became majority owners of Iogen last spring.
According to the Herald, discussions between Domtar and Iogen had been on and off over the past several years. Feasibility studies were underway, and then Domtar announced it would demolish the entire site in December. As recently as February, though, talks were on, but again that has changed.
Prince Albert Mayor Jim Scarrow said the latest development could just be another kink in the works, and that Minister of Energy and Resources, Bill Boyd, is arranging a meeting with both Shell and Domtar.