No buyer has been found for the Worthington Mackenzie pulp mill.

Last month a proposal by Range Gold Corp. left many people scratching their heads when a quick look at their financial record showed they did not seem to have the ability to purchase the mill.

B.C.'s Forests Minister Pat Bell is now saying that the mill could be shut down for years, but he is optimistic that it will reopen some day.

"I do think that mill has a good opportunity to get up and running," said Bell. "We continue to see a downturn in the pulp sector right now. So very challenging times for the industry, but it is a good mill. It has excellent access to fibre."

The provincial government in British Columbia is still trying to recover the cost of maintaining the mill from the current owners — but who that is isn't clear.

After Worthington Properties bought the mill, ownership was turned over to a company called Worthington Mackenzie. The owner of Worthington Properties, Dan White, resigned as director of the company, leaving the only person listed on the corporate registry of Worthington Mackenzie is someone named Drago N. Puskaric from Slovenia.

Then in March, the offices of Worthington Properties in Edmonton were stuck by arson, and many of the company records were destroyed.

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B.C. finds no buyers for Mackenzie mill (CBC)