The partnership with Pacific BioEnergy will allow Tolko access to higher volumes of quality sawlogs. August from logging sites that were within an economical trucking distance. “We took advantage of the closer wood while we were operating there and now we’re moving further away,” Tolko’s fibre flow manager Eric Pascas explains. “So we’re pretty much going to be working off this inventory during the commissioning phase and right through until break up.” The arrangement is unique in the region, but it’s the kind of arrangement that may become more common as fi-bre in the Interior deteriorates. Pellet plants and paper mills are continuing to require feedstocks even as sawmills are cutting production. As it is, there is no easy model to follow – the distinction between sawlog and biomass log isn’t even black and white. “We’re still trying to figure this thing out,” Pascas explains. “Part of it is get-ting it up and running. But then the other part of it is to take this log mix in terms of how we’re going to buck it and sort it, and slice and dice it to put roughly 20 per cent into the processing plant and the other 80 per cent into the sawmill.” The facility is still gearing up. It is now running on one shift with plans to add a second shift in May when the logs thaw and debarking is more efficient. In the meantime, the sawmill is running at full capacity and the new partnership between Pacific BioEnergy and Nazko Logging (Nazbec) is working steadily through the winter with the security of a 14-year licence for 100,000 m3. • 866-746-8385 | [email protected] #IBCE15 -Follow Us: twitter.com/biomassmagazine BBI biomaass janfeb15.indd BIOMASS 1 18 Canadian MARCH/APRIL 2015 2015-01-30 11:30 AM
Canadian Biomass March-April 2015: Page 18
