Montreal, Quebec, Canada 31 July 2013 -- Resolute Forest Products is making a US$30-million investment in the woodyard of its Augusta, Georgia, newsprint mill, the Augusta Chronicle reports.

According to the paper, the new woodyard will process full-length logs, and allow the mill to move away from using waste-paper furnish.

“We’re eliminating the sawdeck that cuts those logs into small pieces. We’ll be processing full-length logs through our woodyard, which debarks the trees and then chips them,” general manager Jay Backus told the newspaper.

Backus said the mill will use only TMP furnish once the new woodyard is fully operational. Completion of the woodyard is planned for Sept. 2014.

About $16 million in new equipment, including a mill chipper, two log cranes and conveyer systems, will constitute the bulk of costs, said Backus.

He told the Augusta paper the change will make the mill more economical and improve its competitiveness in the newsprint market.