Proposed SW larger pulp mill

11/9/95

Wesfarmers Bunnings Limited is considering plans for a larger pulp mill for the South-West.

Resources Development Minister Colin Barnett said pre-feasibility studies had revealed that the first of the two proposed mills could be larger than originally planned.  If successful, the pulp mill would be the largest of its type in the world.

A 350,000 tonne per annum pulp mill was now proposed. The original project, announced in August 1993, was planned to produce 240,000 tonnes of pulp per annum.

Mr Barnett said the siting of the project had also been narrowed from seven possible sites to either the Kemerton industrial area or a new greenfield site.

He said he was happy with the progress made, with the preliminary studies being completed.  Only key issues, such as resource availability and power supply, needed to be progressed, prior to a board decision to commit to the next stage, a $3 million detailed feasibility study.

Wesfarmers Bunnings had rightly re-examined original plans in light of the new findings and the Minister was confident that the new considerations would not adversely delay the project schedule.

Mr Barnett said subject to favourable feasibility study results, construction of the first mill could begin in the first half of 1997, and be operational in 1999.  It would cost $450 million to build, generate over $200 million in revenue each year and create 200 jobs at the mill.

Wesfarmers Bunnings' first mill would be a state-of-the-art bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp mill, using an environmentally sound pulping process that involved no liquid effluent being discharged from the site.

Mr Barnett, who visited Canada two months ago to inspect a mill similar to the one proposed for the South-West, was impressed with the world-class technology and was confident a similar mill would be accepted in the South-West.

He said this environmentally sound process, as witnessed at the pulp mill operated by Canadian pulp producer, Millar Western, involved four distinct advantages over other methods:

1.         It used hydrogen peroxide in the bleaching process - which broke down to basically oxygen and water, allowing water and chemicals to be fully recycled, a feature not yet achieved in kraft mills.

2.         It was based on a 'closed-loop' system - which meant that no liquid effluent left the site.

3.         It used far fewer trees to produce pulp - the Millar Western plant produced

85-90 tonnes of pulp for every 100 tonnes of dry wood fibre, as opposed to the kraft system, which produced only about 45 tonnes of pulp from the same amount of wood fibre. In other words, the Millar Western process was nearly twice as efficient in wood use.

4.         In water use, the Millar Western system used 1-2 cubic metres of water for every tonne of pulp, whereas a new kraft system was expected to use

10-20 cubic metres for every tonne of pulp.  Existing kraft mills used 30-40 cubic metres.

The Minister said timber growing conditions offered in the South-West also provided WA with great advantages.

Mr Barnett said WA bluegums reached maturity within about 10 years compared with Canadian Aspen, which took about 60 years to reach maturity.

"A mill of this type is extremely modern and clean and is based on the latest technology which is geared towards the environment," he said.

The Minister said that this system, coupled with favourable market trends in Asia Pacific, made WA a prime choice to site a pulp mill.

He also said that after visiting the impressive Millar Western mill, the Government would be fully supportive of any arrangement to involve the company in the South-West development.

"The project has the potential to lead the world in an environmentally sound, integrated forestry, pulp and paper development," he said.

Media contact: Carolyn Vicars - 222 9699