Gypsum Company Opens $20-Million Facility

A major investment by the United States Gypsum Company in a new crusher at its plant near Windsor has been applauded by Natural Resources Minister Ernest Fage.

The company has invested about $20 million in a new computer- controlled crushing and screening facility at its Miller Creek gypsum mine in Hants County. The official opening took place today.

"This investment is a significant commitment by United States Gypsum in the gypsum industry in the Windsor area and in the economic future of Nova Scotia," said Mr. Fage, who attended the opening. "This high-tech, state-of-the-art crusher and loading terminal will continue to provide high-paying jobs in rural Nova Scotia."

The facility provides the company with the flexibility it needs to add components to increase the mine's output, should markets allow.

Two company executives, Alex Pavin and Kerry Bartlett, from Chicago, Illinois, attended the opening. United States Gypsum is the largest gypsum mining and manufacturing company in North America. The Miller Creek operation is the company's largest mine and currently produces about 1.7-million tonnes of gypsum, which supplies five of the company's manufacturing plants in the United States.

The company also operates a mine in Wentworth, Hants County, and two operations on Cape Breton Island, including a mine in Little Narrows and a gypsum wallboard plant in Point Tupper. The Hants County operations employ 160 individuals, including 85 at the Miller Creek mine which was opened in the 1950s.

The gypsum industry is worth about $72 million to Nova Scotia's economy and directly employs 460 people.