Cambior Announces Third Quarter Results - Part 1 of 2, Tables to Follow.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 1996-- CAMBIOR INC.(ME, TSE, AMEX CBJ., ME, TSE, AMEX CBJ.WTA.) RECORD REVENUES AND MAJOR IMPROVEMENT IN OPERATING AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

Since the beginning of 1996, Cambior has reported its financial statements in US $.

Cambior Inc. announced today that its third quarter production was 145,000 ounces of gold, 18,800 tonnes of zinc and 2,600 tonnes of copper. Gold production in the third quarter showed a 30 percent improvement over the second quarter as operations at Omai benefited from the successful start-up of the mill expansion.

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Revenues reached a record of $91.7 million for the third quarter, compared to $64.2 million for the same quarter of 1995. Cash flow from operations (before changes in working capital items) amounted to $21.9 million ($0.36 per share) compared to $6.8 million ($0.13 per share) for the third quarter of 1995, and the net earnings totaled $3.3 million ($0.05 per share) versus a loss of $4.7 million ($0.09 per share).

Revenues for the first nine months of 1996 totaled $226.4 million compared to $208.6 million for the same period in 1995. Cash flow from operations amounted to $47.5 million ($0.81 per share) compared to $42.5 million ($0.85 per share) for the first nine months of 1995. Net earnings were $5.4 million ($0.09 per share) compared to $1.1 million ($0.02 per share) for the same period in 1995. For the first nine months of 1996 81 percent of the net revenues and 85 percent of the cash flow from operations were derived from the gold segment of Cambior's operations.

Third quarter 1996 results showed a marked improvement over the third quarter of 1995 and the first two quarters of 1996 thereby re-establishing the company's basis of sustainable operating performance and profitability. Third quarter 1995 results were affected by the shutdown of operations in mid-August 1995 at the Omai mine due to the failure of the tailings dam. The Omai mine resumed operations in February 1996 and reached full capacity by March 1996. Third quarter 1996 results reflect the expanded operating capacity at the Omai mine following the commissioning of the mill expansion in July and full operating capacity at the Doyon mine, where the second quarter of 1996 had been affected by a labour disruption.

OPERATIONS

The Omai mine produced a record of 77,000 ounces of gold in the third quarter, an important improvement over the 58,000 ounces produced in the second quarter. The mill expansion was successfully commissioned in early July and reached its design capacity in August for an average throughput of 18,300 tonnes per day during the quarter. Gold recovery for the third quarter was 92 percent and direct mining cash costs were reduced to $233 per ounce, an improvement of $49 per ounce over the second quarter. Fourth quarter production will benefit from the first full quarter of operation of the mill expansion and thereby establish the sustainable capacity potential of the Omai mill.

Drilling continued during the third quarter in the Wenot pit area with a view to increasing reserves in this pit. Step-out drilling will also continue in the area to the east of the Wenot pit.

Cambior's share of gold production at Doyon for the third quarter was 27,000 ounces, a 30 percent improvement over the second quarter, which was affected by an eight-week strike. Third quarter gold production was higher than that of the same period in the previous year despite a two-week scheduled maintenance shutdown in early July. Surface exploration continued during the third quarter to explore the potential of the area to the west of the mine as well as on the Mouska property located adjacent to the Doyon property. An exploration drift from the 8th level of the Doyon mine is in progress to access the new discovery at depth and to determine the potential of the new west zone.

The Bouchard-Hebert operations showed a marked improvement during the quarter as the throughput at the mill attained an average of 2,600 tonnes per day with the benefit of the expanded grinding circuit. Higher grades milled for gold, copper and silver and better recoveries also helped gold and copper production which more than doubled over the second quarter.

Production continued to improve at the Langlois mine (formerly the Grevet mine) reaching an average of 1,900 tonnes/day by the end of the quarter. Results were adversely affected by weak zinc market prices averaging 45 cents/lb for the quarter. Further improvements in mining operations, mill throughput and zinc prices are expected in the near future.

INVESTMENTS AND FINANCING

Investments during the third quarter totaled $25 million, and were principally focused on Omai ($7 million), the funding of major international development projects ($6 million), preparations for the Carlota project ($6 million) and ongoing expenditures at producing mines. The construction of the Carlota project has been delayed until early 1997, pending the receipt of environmental permits.

Benefitting from a successful hedging program, the Company generated, for the quarter, an average price of $423 per ounce, a $38 premium over the average market price of $385. For the first nine months of 1996, the Company obtained an average price of $430 per ounce, a premium of $38 over the average market price of $392. For the remainder of 1996 the Company has gold hedging positions on 45,000 ounces assuring a minimum price of $424 per ounce.

During the third quarter Cambior prepaid $9 million of its gold loan. The unused gold loan facility currently stands at $25 million. In addition, Cambior maintains a strong financial position to pursue its growth strategy with $124 million of cash and short term investments. The net debt position stands at only $88 million at the end of the third quarter.

DEVELOPMENT AND EXPLORATION PROJECTS

During the third quarter, the Company pursued its development and exploration work on the Gross Rosebel, El Pachon, La Granja, Metates and Yaou-Dorlin projects.

At the Gross Rosebel (Suriname) project (50 percent Cambior), the feasibility study is scheduled for April 1997. Further drilling of the deposits continues to increase mining reserves. The reserves were updated during the quarter to 30 million tonnes grading 1.5 g Au/t representing 1.4 million ounces of gold in situ. Step-out drilling continues to confirm the extension of the deposit in an effort to reach the target of 2 million ounces by the feasibility study.

At the El Pachon (Argentina) project (50 percent Cambior), work continues to finalize mining reserves and optimize operating parameters in order to further improve the project economics. The feasibility study, scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 1997, will take into account an increase in the initial throughput from 40,000 tonnes per day to 70,000 tonnes per day. This project, located at the Chilean/Argentinean border, will benefit from the recently announced agreement by both governments to sign a treaty and a specific protocol for the El Pachon project, thereby permitting efficient operations. The protocol is expected to be signed before the completion of the feasibility study. During the quarter, Cambior began its efforts to market the concentrate to potential smelter customers. Preliminary contacts are encouraging as the Pachon concentrate is considered a clean concentrate at a favorable copper grade.

At La Granja (Peru), drilling continued during the quarter in order to explore and better define the orebody and the mining plan for the first few years of operations. It is expected that a significant portion of the possible reserves will be upgraded to the proven and probable category and that updated mining reserves should be announced by year-end 1996. Work continues in the preparation of the feasibility study with a view to improving the project economics and completing the feasibility study by the spring of 1997.

Development also continued on the Metates (Mexico) project with the principal focus on metallurgical testing to confirm earlier results and optimize processing scenarios and further enhance the project economics.

Drill results were reported during the third quarter on both the Yaou and Dorlin properties in French Guiana (50 percent Cambior). At Dorlin, results were announced from the first phase of core drilling and the program, for the remainder of the year, involves mobilizing a second and larger core drill. At Yaou, probable reserves were announced of 10.3 million tonnes grading 2.7 g Au/t representing 875,900 ounces of gold in situ. The ongoing program will focus on expanding mining reserves as well as exploring for new zones of mineralization. Cambiex Exploration Inc. has an option to earn a 30 percent interest in Cambior's ownership on these properties.

Encouraging assay results were also received from the first phase of diamond drilling on the Sultana copper-gold project in Idaho. The core-drilling program, which consists of fourteen holes to date, continues to intersect highly-significant near-surface copper, gold and silver within a mineralized and oxidized skarn zone approximately 300 meters wide by more than 1.5 kilometers long. Cambiex Exploration, which is funding the exploration on this project, has earned a 15 percent interest and has an option to increase its interest to 50 percent by investing an amount of $5.0 million.

During the first nine months of 1996, the Company spent $6.8 million on exploration expenses to identify high potential gold projects. The results seem encouraging and the Company has decided to accelerate its exploration expenditures, especially in Peru and Mexico, during the remainder of the year on the most promising gold properties. Cambior approved a 50 percent increase in funding to over $6 million for the second half of 1996 of which $3 million was expended during the third quarter.

STRATEGIC OVERVIEW AND OUTLOOK

Louis P. Gignac, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated that "Production and financial performance have shown a major improvement during the third quarter as Omai benefited from the mill expansion, Doyon returned to normal operations subsequent to the labour strike and mill throughput increased at the Bouchard- Hebert and Langlois mines. We expect to meet our production targets for the year 1996 and will establish, during the second half of the year, an improved and sustainable level of production and financial performance. Work is also being diligently pursued to bring our major development projects to feasibility study by early 1997. This will help us to define the economic potential of these projects and permit a better understanding and valuation of these projects by investors.

Cambior has also intensified its efforts and funding to identify and develop gold projects, including the indicated potential on the new mineralized structure on the Doyon and Mouska properties and the ongoing programs in Suriname, French Guiana, Mexico and Peru. With the re-establishment of improved operation and financial performance and the development of advanced projects, Cambior has considerable potential for enhancing shareholder value."

Cambior is a major diversified gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities in North and South America. Cambior shares ("CBJ") are listed on the Toronto, Montreal and American (AMEX) stock exchanges. -0-

                     HIGHLIGHTS CAMBIOR INC.
                        THIRD QUARTER

    -- Gold production of 145,000 ounces
    -- Omai mill expansion reached design capacity
    -- Stronger performance at Bouchard-Hebert
    -- The hedging program generated a $38 premium over the average
       market price

                      SHORT-TERM OUTLOOK

    -- Full impact of Omai mill expansion
    -- Continuing improvement at Langlois
    -- Potential to further increase mining reserves at Gross Rosebel,
       El Pachon and La Granja
    -- Feasibility studies continuing for major development projects
    -- Increased funding to gold exploration


                First      Second       Third       First
               Quarter    Quarter     Quarter   nine months
                ended      ended        ended       ended
              March 31,   June 30,  September 30, September 30,
                1996      1996     1996    1995  1996    1995
All results
 in US dollars
_______________

RESULTS (in millions)
_____________________

Total revenues  60.7      74.0     91.7    64.2  226.4  208.6
Net earnings
 (Net loss)      1.0       1.1      3.3    (4.7)   5.4    1.1
Cash flow
 from
 operations (1) 11.6      14.0     21.9     6.8   47.5   42.5
                ____      ____     ____     ___   ____   ____

PER COMMON SHARE ($)
____________________

Earnings (Loss) 0.02      0.02     0.05   (0.09)  0.09   0.02
Cash flow
 from
 operations (1) 0.21      0.23     0.36    0.13   0.81   0.85
Weighted average
 number of
 common shares
 outstanding (in
 millions) (2)  54.9      60.1     60.1    51.6   58.4   49.9
                ____      ____     ____    ____   ____   ____

GOLD PRODUCTION
_______________

Number of
 ounces (000)     90       112      145     112    347    379
Direct mining
 costs
 ($ per ounce)   269       270      236     320    258    281
Cambior's
 selling price
 ($ per ounce)   438       428      423     424    430    414

Market price
 ($ per ounce)   400       390      385     384    392    384
                 ___       ___      ___     ___    ___    ___

FINANCIAL POSITION
(in millions)
__________________
                       September 30,         December 31,
                           1996                 1995

Cash                      123.7                 62.5
Total assets              818.4                710.6
Net debt                   88.1                139.6
Shareholders' equity      552.9                434.5

(1) Before changes in working capital items.

(2) As at September 30, 1996, Cambior had a total of 60 million

common shares outstanding.

CONTACT: Cambior Inc.

Henry A. Roy, 514/878-3461

514/878-4608 (FAX)

INTERNET: http://www.cambior.com

E-mail: [e-mail]

or

Cambior Inc.

Robert LaValliere, 514/878-1282

514/878-3324 (FAX)

INTERNET: http://www.cambior.com

E-mail: [e-mail]

or

Cambior Inc.

Victoria Putnam, 514/ 878-3166

514/878-0635 (FAX)

INTERNET: http://www.cambior.com

E-mail: [e-mail]