Conifex has announced that it will be extending what was a two week curtailment at their Mackenzie location.

According to the company, the mill will begin operating again on September 3rd.

“We regret the impact that the curtailment will have on our employees and the community,” said Kenneth Shields, Chair and CEO of Conifex.

“We are exploring initiatives with the Ministry of Forests, Land, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, the District of Mackenzie, and other forest industry stakeholders to help enable us to sustain operations through the remainder of 2019.”

The temporary curtailment, together with the curtailment announced in July, is expected to reduce Conifex’s British Columbia lumber output by approximately 25 million board feet in the third quarter.

Coupled with the indefinite closure of Mackenzie’s Canfor mill announced last month, nearly 500 people in the community are out of work.