Dec 07, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. PaperlinX Ltd has announced that, following a comprehensive ten month review of the opportunities for its Tasmanian paper manufacturing operations, it has decided to close its Wesley Vale operation and part of the operations at Burnie, but is continuing to explore a sale of the remaining operations at Burnie as an alternative to its complete closure. On completion of this exit, PaperlinX will be solely a merchanting company, with businesses distributing paper, sign and display and graphics materials and industrial packaging to a wide range of customers in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, Europe and North America. The exit will occur in two stages, with the first expected to be completed by the end of March 2010, and the second expected to be completed by the end of June 2010. In the event that both sites are ultimately closed in full, the overall net cash cost is expected to be around $10-20 million. The total cash closure costs before recovery of working capital and the sale of assets would be around A$120 million including redundancies and environmental remediation costs over the full course of the exit. It is expected that the 2010 result for PaperlinX will include after tax significant items of around A$170 million including non-cash accounting items as a result of the closure. Stage 1 will involve the closure of the number 4 paper machine at Burnie (B4) and the number 11 and 12 machines at Wesley Vale (WV11 and WV12) by the end of March 2010. The Conversion Department of the Wesley Vale Mill will remain operational until all work in progress is converted (expected to take 4-6 weeks post closure of WV12). Stage 2 will involve either the sale of the balance of the Burnie Mill, including the number 10 paper machine (B10) and converting operations, or closure, which is expected to complete by the end of June 2010. PaperlinX continues to explore the potential for a sale with discussions ongoing. As a result of the closures approximately 252 Tas Paper jobs will be lost at the Wesley Vale and Burnie mills over coming months; while approximately 170 Tas Paper jobs will be maintained at Burnie pending the outcome of the sale discussions. All Tas Paper employees who lose their jobs as a result of these closures will receive their full entitlements as per their Enterprise Agreement or contract arrangements along with outplacement services.