THE privately-owned Griffin Group has announced that it, together with Hong-Kong-based ARC International Industrial Material Company, will under-take a feasibility study into the construction of a pulp mill near Collie in the state’s South West. The proposed $300 million pulp mill would produce BCTMP (Bleached Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulp) mainly for export to the Asia-Pacific region, with a strong focus on China. The mill is expected to have a capacity in the range of 250,000-350,000 tonnes a year and require between 500,000 and 700,000 tonnes of pulpwood annually. The pulp mill is planned for Griffin’s Coolangatta Industrial Estate near Collie and is expected to employ about 500 people during peak construction, with around 150 employees required during operations. These figures are being investigated as part of the feasibility study to further develop definitive estimations. Griffin has commissioned pulp and paper mill consulting specialists Jaakko Poyry to undertake the study, which is expected to take about four months to complete. The company’s subsidiary, Griffin Energy, also recently initiated a number of ventures aimed at optimising the efficiency of the state’s power supply. Among these projects are the Emu Downs Windfarm, the proposed Coolangatta Industrial Estate, which will house the 200-megawatt Bluewaters Power Station, and a tender submission to the State Government for the construction of a 300 to 330 megawatt coal-fired base-load power station. ARC is an international trading company with a product portfolio ranging from pulp and paper to other commodities.
