By Rosalind Russell – Espanola Mayor Douglas Gervais says funding from the province is assisting Bioveld Group to move forward on restarting the Espanola Mill.
Bioveld North Inc., a subsidiary of the Canadian-owned BMI Group, welcomed a $5.1-million investment from the Government of Ontario yesterday morning that advances its plans to restart the historic Espanola pulp mill, idled since 2023.
Gervais says the mill has been at the heart of Espanola for generations, and its idling was felt across our whole community, but this funding commitment is a vote of confidence in our town’s future – and in the work that Bioveld North is advancing towards a restart.
He points out that under the plan, up to 400 direct, and 2,000 indirect jobs would be created.
BMI Group CEO Paul Veldman adds the funding supports a $10.5-million front-end loading engineering and design program, and Bioveld North is contributing $5.4 million.
He says the engineering will finalize the design and cost of the restart, adding Bioveld North intends to restart the mill and will confirm timing as the work advances.
Veldman explained that the economics are the reason for the decision to move ahead on restarting the mill.
Its closure disrupted a regional supply chain that historically supported an estimated 2,000 additional jobs across 19 Ontario sawmills, six of which relied on Espanola for around 75 percent of their wood-chip sales.
With no domestic outlet, several sawmills have been idled, and most remaining residual fibre is now shipped out of province, weakening Ontario’s forestry value chain at a time of mounting trade pressure.
Officials say the feasibility study for the restart explores returning the mill to approximately 800 air-dried metric tonnes per day of premium talc-free Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp and about 180 short tonnes per day of paper for medical and food grades, with capacity to expand over time.
They add it is the first phase of Pulp+, Bioveld North’s plan to develop the site into an integrated forest bioproducts hub, adding biocarbon, renewable fuels and clean power through phased private investment.
Bioveld North acquired the former Domtar site in late 2025.
Veldman says restoring domestic production of specialty pulp grades that Canada now imports would strengthen supply-chain security amid sustained tariff pressure on Canada’s forest products and would demonstrate a Canadian-owned company rebuilding capacity that multinationals left behind.
He emphasizes a successful restart will require substantial private and customer investment alongside government support.
In the months ahead, the company will work closely with mill workers, the sawmills that depend on the site, the Town of Espanola and local First Nations to build the foundation for a successful restart.
Veldman emphasizes that this groundwork, with the community and its partners, is its immediate priority.
Of the provincial funds, $100,000 will be used to assess the facility’s equipment, identify opportunities to increase the use of mill byproducts and underused wood, and estimate the cost and requirement for restarting operations.
The remaining $5 million will fund detailed engineering work, complete with a timeline for restart and a plan for diversification focused on bioproducts such as biocarbon and renewable gas.
Photos: As part of this week’s announcement, local leaders, industry businesses and media were invited to take in a tour of the Espanola Mill. The tour included the famous World Map designed by a German Prisoner of War when the mill was used as a POW camp during World War Two, as well as a walk above the dam. Photos by Rosalind M Russell
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