By Andru McCracken

Despite the signing of an agreement between the mill owner and the local union, there is no timeline yet for the opening of Valemount Forest Products, according to the company’s president, Bill Kordyban.

“You can see we are putting the pieces together and we will continue to do so. But I can’t make any promises at this point,” he said.

Kordyban said that several more issues remain, including the finalization of his company’s purchase of the forest license from McBride Forest Industries.

“The McBride license becomes an integral part of the license for Valemount,” he said.

Other issues include wood residue disposal. Kordyban said he doesn’t want to operate the existing beehive burners and that the capital cost of a wood burning kiln is very expensive.

“We are looking at other options,” he said.

He said that they are watching the markets very carefully. He said commodity prices often rise and fall, but he said that the current slump is severe.

“It’s no secret that a lot of companies are losing money right now at these prices,” he said. “It’s brutal right now.”

Kordyban said that upgrades to the mill in Valemount should begin soon.

“There is some work we are going to do in the mill. We will get working on that,” he said.

When the mill does open, Kordyban said that he would start up the sawmill and bring the rough sawn lumber to Prince George to dry and dress.