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A new OSB mill and the restart of a pulp mill in the Prince Albert area are bringing a welcome boost to the Saskatchewan economy.
The announcement of the new mill came about as a result of back-door deals, Paul Martin — business analyst for 980 CJME and 650 CKOM — told Brent Loucks on Thursday.
Martin said it was odd for the province to announce that it had granted timber rights to Paper Excellence rather than the business making the announcement.
“We don’t know a whole lot about it, actually. It’s not normal for the government to kind of announce these things without the business being there,” he said.
The new mill project, called One Sky, is expected to be “quite a substantial” one, with a $150-million price tag. The project will also see “very significant participation” from First Nations community members in the area.
Martin called it a positive announcement, though few details have been released.
Driven by demand
The high demand for lumber during COVID-19 that led to huge price increases has changed the game for project economics on the horizon, Martin said.
While lumber prices have dropped off somewhat since that spike, a broad demand is still present in the province.
“Anyone who was in that game was obviously doing very well and it changed the economics of projects that were on the drawing board,” Martin said.
He observed the new project will have an added aspect of usefulness due to its need for hardwood. As Saskatchewan forests produce both hardwood and softwood, Martin said the mill will help balance the user base in the Prince Albert area.
Interest in Saskatchewan wood from B.C. companies looking for new timber illustrates another source of demand, as well as more business generated for Saskatchewan producers as a result of forest fires on the west coast that have shut down local producers.
To Martin, though, the biggest story is “Sask-a-boom 2.0” — the amount of money currently being invested in the province, much of it investment driven.
“It is reminiscent of the first boom we saw,” he said.
