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The first of multiple new tenants that are planned for the old pulp mill north of Prince Albert has been announced.
BMI, the new owners, and Plum Gas Solution, an American company based in Michigan but with offices in Calgary and Drayton Valley, announced they signed an MOU on Tuesday.
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“As soon as we purchased the property, we received a number of different inquiries from folks wanting to co-locate there,” said Olga Patronik, executive project co-ordinator for BMI.
She said that is the benefit of BMI’s business model, which is to acquire industrial properties and redevelop them with tenants who can use the infrastructure such as rail or transloading capabilities.
In this case, Plum Gas wants to use the existing natural gas line at the site, add a new line and compress natural gas (CNG) for industrial customers that are not on an existing grid.
Mark Hill, Vice President of Corporate Development at Plum Gas Solutions said there will be a local economic impact on Prince Albert.
“We’ll need to source local contractors for construction and commissioning and then for ongoing operations such as drivers and other positions.”
Hill added there is no timeline on the development; however, they are ‘looking to deploy pretty quickly’ thanks to the existing infrastructure.
CNG is a cleaner and cheaper alternative to propane or diesel and can be used to fuel burners, dryers, onsite power generation systems and heavy-duty haul trucks.
Access to natural gas for operations is a key consideration in the feasibility of projects like new uranium mines. A new mine was approved last week and another is in the final stages before approval.
One of the benefits cited for economic potential of the new Wheeler River mine is its access to infrastructure like natural gas.
Several uranium mines already exist in northern Saskatchewan. Last weekend Prime Minister Mark Carney, along with Premier Scott Moe secured a $2.6 billion deal to have Cameco supply India with uranium. Cameco has interests in the Rabbit Lake, Key Lake, McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines.
“We are currently exploring a number of different possibilities, Plum Gas being the anchor, first tenant on the property,” Patronik said.
She could not give out details of the other potential tenants nor a timeline on how quickly they would be able to maximize the use of the location.
“We are in active negotiations for different portions of the space, be it warehousing or manufacturing,” she said. “We’re definitely looking into the energy, defence and mining sectors.”
Patronik said that Prince Albert’s location makes it a node for supplying not only northern Saskatchewan but also northern Manitoba.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba signed their own MOU in 2025 to explore increases to the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay railway. The federal government is funding a market sounding study to explore the full business potential of the port.
Patronik said working with the province and city officials has been a smooth process.
“From the premier to the mayor to the chief executive officer of the District Chamber of Commerce, we’ve received nothing but warm welcome from the public and the public offices of Prince Albert and Saskatchewan,” she said.
Before BMI bought the old pulp mill in November, it had sat unused since it was closed by Weyerhauser 20 years ago.
