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FORT FRANCES, ON — With hundreds of potential jobs on the line, the community of Fort Frances is hoping Resolute Forest Products and Rainy River Packaging can negotiate a deal that will result in the reopening of the town's idled pulp and paper mill.
Rainy River Packaging Inc. is a new company established by the partners in the Repap Resources investment group.
On Friday, Repap confirmed it had submitted a purchase offer to Resolute, meeting the March 15 deadline for submissions.
To this point, Resolute has only stated publicly that it is "evaluating the information received."
Repap spokesperson Sean Twomey told Tbnewswatch the offer is valid until Friday, March 22.
"We put an expiring date of this coming Friday for acceptance...we did not want [it] simply sitting out there with no response," he said.
Twomey added that Repap has told Resolute it is prepared to sit down for talks this week, but so far Resolute has only acknowledged receipt of the offer.
He had said earlier last week that his company's offer would be conditional on financing and on obtaining a fibre supply for the mill, which would produce the kind of kraft paper used for cement bags and sugar bags.
According to a posted message by the Town of Fort Frances, Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford has informed stakeholders that "the Province of Ontario will make wood fibre available to any purchaser who intends to operate the Fort Frances mill."
The town said it was thankful to Rickford, the Minister of Northern Development, "for his leadership and advocacy" on the community's behalf.
Repap has offered to "trade" saw logs with the Resolute sawmills in Atikokan and Ignace in exchange for residual chips and for hardwood pulp from its mill in Thunder Bay.
It has said 350 workers would be employed in the mill, and a similar number would work in woodlands operations.
