Graymont Proposes New Lime Plant and Quarry Facility

2007-05-17

PRINCE GEORGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Graymont Western Canada Inc. (“Graymont”) announced today that it has applied for permits to build and operate a lime plant and associated limestone quarry. The proposed operations are located in the Regional District of Fraser Fort-George approximately 27 kilometres northeast of Prince George near the settlement of Giscome.

The Project includes a 200 hectare quarry that would produce up to approximately 1.2 million tonne of limestone per year, and a lime plant that would produce up to approximately 400,000 tonne of lime per year from the limestone produced in the quarry. Construction will require approximately 45 person-years of work, and the operation of the lime plant and quarry will create approximately 30 direct jobs.

Current exploration efforts have demonstrated adequate reserves to support the investment in the plant and to operate it for many decades.

Lime has many applications in industries as diverse as steel, pulp and paper and agriculture. Markets to be served by the proposed plant will be primarily environmental protection, including flue gas desulphurization (the removal of sulphur resulting from the industrial burning of high sulphur fossil fuels) and acid mine waste treatment. The Project is located on the Canadian National Railway and will have easy access to markets for its products. The Project will support economic diversification and east-west trade corridor initiatives in the region. The geographic reach of the proposed lime plant will extend from the prairies to Alaska, and lime will be delivered primarily by rail. Graymont will also produce high quality limestone products which are also used for similar environmental protection applications.

Graymont is committed to carrying out meaningful public consultation throughout the Project from the planning and regulatory approvals process into the Project operations. “Ensuring our projects fit within the community is important at Graymont. We look forward to getting community input into the plant and quarry plans to ensure they respond appropriately to the local context,” said Jeff Higgs, Vice President of Marketing with Graymont.

Graymont is a privately-owned Canadian company with head offices in Richmond B.C. and is committed to responsibly meeting society's needs for lime and limestone products. Graymont has been in the lime and limestone business for over 50 years, and is the largest lime producer in Canada as well as the third largest producer of lime in North America.

For more information, visit www.graymont.com

Or contact:

     Ron Wrigley, Community Consultation Coordinator
     Brown and Associates Planning Group
     Toll free phone: 1-866-404-4763 Direct phone: 1 (403) 692-4733

Graymont Proposes New Lime Plant and Quarry Facility

Related Documents: