Cambior Inc: Carlota Copper Project Receives Favourable Federal District Court Ruling.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 1999--

All amounts in US dollars

Cambior Inc. (ME:CBJ.) (TSE:CBJ.) (AMEX:CBJ) announces that the Carlota Copper Project in Arizona received a favourable ruling from the Federal District Court in Phoenix, Arizona, in litigation brought by environmental groups opposing the permits granted to Carlota by the U.S. Forest Service.

In a judgment released on September 15, 1999, Senior Federal District Court Judge Warren K. Urbom granted Summary Judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest Service and Carlota Copper Company (an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Cambior) in the litigation brought by Citizens for the Preservation of Powers Gulch and Pinto Creek, Mineral Policy Center, Sierra Club, and Maricopa Audubon Society. The plaintiffs alleged that the U.S. Forest Service had violated provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 by approving the proposed Carlota Copper Project in a Record of Decision issued on July 22, 1997. The plaintiffs filed actions in December 1997 and in May 1998 which were consolidated into a single action in August 1998. The Court ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service and Carlota Copper Company on all of the issues following a briefing schedule which was completed with Oral Argument on August 23, 1999. The plaintiffs have 60 days to file an appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition, on August 24, 1999, the Carlota Copper Project received approval of its application to construct the main embankments, the leach pad, and diversion channels associated with the leach pad for the project from the Dam Safety Section of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Carlota has now received all major permits required in order to construct the project.

The Carlota Copper Project has current mining reserves of 95.9 million tonnes grading 0.44 percent Cu, representing 467,000 tonnes of copper in situ. With capital costs estimated at $100 million, the Carlota project would be mined by open pit and would be processed by heap leaching and SX-EW (solvent extraction and electrowinning) with annual production estimated at 35,000 tonnes of copper cathodes and mining costs averaging 49 cents per pound of copper.

Cambior Inc. is an international diversified gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities throughout the Americas. Cambior is the first gold mining company to receive ISO 14001 certification of its environmental management system. Cambior's shares trade on the Toronto, Montreal and American (AMEX) stock exchanges under the symbol "CBJ".

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements", as defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Such risks and uncertainties are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Cambior's Annual Information Form (AIF) filed with the Ontario Securities Commission, the Quebec Securities Commission, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (Form 40-F) and other regulatory authorities.