Snowflake Mill
 Location of Snowflake Mill
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| Built | 1961 |
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| Location | Snowflake, Arizona, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°30′12″N 110°20′10″W / 34.5034°N 110.336°WCoordinates: 34°30′12″N 110°20′10″W / 34.5034°N 110.336°W |
| Industry | Pulp and paper |
| Products | Paper |
| Employees | 293 (2014) |
| Area | 77 km2 (30 sq mi) |
| Owner(s) | Catalyst Paper |
| Defunct | 30 September 2012 |
Snowflake Mill was a pulp mill and paper mill located in the US town of Snowflake, Arizona. The mill had two paper machines which produced 339,000 tonnes of newsprint and uncoated fine paper. It sourced its fiber from two deinking pulp lines. The mill has 293 employees as of 2014. Transport to and from the mill was carried out on the Apache Railway.
Founded in 1961, the mill was eventually owned by the Stone Container Corporation. Ownership passed to Abitibi-Consolidated in 1998 and then to Catalyst Paper in 2008. Due to increased recycled paper prices and a decline in the demand for newsprint, the mill was closed on 30 September 2012.
The mill opened in 1961 as a four-machine, multi-product plant. The mill was bought by Stone Container Corporation who also secured ownership of the Apache Railway. Wastewater from the mill entered Dry Lake until 1996, as well as into Twin Lakes from 1985. A wastewater treatment plant was installed in 1992. During this period the mill received its pulp from the kraft process, a re-causticizing process and a chlorine-based bleaching process. Stone sold the mill and railway to Abitibi-Consolidated in 1998.
Snowflake was an early user of deinking pulp and was amongst the first in the US to accept single-source recycling materials. This moves some of the recycling work from the recyclers, thus cutting their costs, in exchange for a stronger market position and lower raw prices. However, Snowflake Mill was stuck with a raw product flow which contained contaminants, such as plastic and metals.
Catalyst Paper bought the mill in 2008. Catalyst took steps to upgrade the mill, including investments that allowed the plant to produce finer grades of paper.
From 2008 the mill fell into a steadily more competitive environment. Prices of recycled fibers rose with increased demand from Chinese importers. Slack at quality controlling received papers at Chinese mills allowed for the export of a steadily more contaminated wastes, which again effected the quality and prices for Snowflake. This led to higher prices and lower quality for Snowflake Mill. The price of old newsprint increased by 163 percent from 2009 to 2012.
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