CANADA (From news reports) -- Citing market and economic conditions, Paper Excellence is confirming they will not be proceeding with plans to restart the Prince Albert pulp mill.

According to a statement Thursday night, they will instead explore options to divest the mill.

"This was a difficult decision that was made with a lot of thought and care. After a significant amount of planning, engineering and economic study, we could not produce a viable economic business case to proceed with the project as previously planned," they said.

In February, 2021, Paper Excellence had announced plans to restart the facility as early as 2023. And the following year, following a tour of the mill, the federal energy minister had mentioned the creation of 1,700 jobs.

But while optimism was high at the time, the company explained Thursday night market demand for unbleached kraft pulp (UKP), which is the kind of pulp PA Pulp would produce, is weak.

It is also extremely competitive with lower cost producers from other regions of the world.

"While prices are currently stable, the market is relatively small. Injecting additional capacity would only further soften the market, which is why we cannot justify the significant costs associated with the restart project," the company explained.

Going forward, Paper Excellence confirmed they are committed to continuing to operate in Saskatchewan.

"Our Meadow Lake Mill, which employs 200 people and generates $470 million in economic contributions annually, is a leading producer of Bleached Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulp (BCTMP) used in tissue paper, paper towels, and food and board packaging."

Paper Excellence Canada, headquartered in British Columbia, is a diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers in Canada with a production capacity of over 2.5 million tonnes annually and a workforce of more than 2,000.