Mar 22, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. On Sunday, March 21, Arauco resumed operation of its Valdivia pulp mill in Chile. The facility underwent a thorough inspection following the earthquake that struck on February 27, and now fully complies with the operational, environmental, and safety standards demanded, company said in a statement received by Lesprom Network. “Today we began operation of the Valdivia pulp mill, which is in ideal conditions. This is a fundamental step in the normalization of company activities and good news for the company, for our workers and contract workers, our customers and the market in general, as well as for the many businesses that supply products and services in the area”, said Arauco CEO Matías Domeyko. The Valdivia pulp mill has an annual production capacity of 550 thousand tons of kraft pulp. Additionally, its biomass based cogeneration power plant resumed operation on March 16, providing clean energy to the nation’s Central Interconnected System (SIC). With the mill’s operation, Arauco’s production activities return to normal in Chile’s Los Ríos Region, generating a total of 10,000 jobs. Other facilities that resumed operation earlier, on March 16, are: four saw mills, in addition to Valdivia saw mill which never closed; four remanufacturing facilities and three panel facilities. Arauco’s remaining production units are being assessed for damage by specialized teams and work is being done to resume operations as soon as possible, company said.