Business group annoyed to learn of mill visit

Revelations that a German company toured a defunct newsprint mill in central Newfoundland are not sitting well with a key business group in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale informed the house of assembly this week that an unnamed German company has expressed an interest in the old AbitibiBowater mill.

Dunderdale said discussions with the company are very preliminary.

Even so, Gerald Thompson, president of the town's chamber of commerce, said his organization was kept totally in the dark.

"As a chamber, we're disappointed that somebody could come to this community, do an assessment of this mill, and nobody in this community knows anything about it," Thompson told CBC News.

"So I find it very strange and not at all what I'd like to see."

Dunderdale told reporters that the German firm is "a very credible company," and that it was attracted to the area's wood supply, the former mill workforce and access to cheap power.