Cambior Inc.: Drilling Results From the Porcupine Project.

Business Editors

LONGUEUIL, Quebec--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 3, 2002

Cambior Inc. (AMEX:CBJ)(TSX:CBJ.TO), partner with COGEMA Resources Inc. on the Porcupine property located northwest of Rouyn-Noranda in Quebec, is pleased to announce the most recent drilling results completed on the property. The objective of the drilling campaign was to intersect the Porcupine-Destor fault zone in areas where interpretation indicated structural phenomena of interest, while also verifying local Induced Polarization anomalies along the fault zone. One of the drill holes specifically targeted the extension at depth of a mineralized showing that had been identified in the fault zone by Cambior in 1999.

Detailed Results of the Drilling Program

Seven drill holes totalling 3,450 meters were completed to date and three other drill holes are scheduled to be completed as part of the program by the end of 2002. All of these drill holes cut the Porcupine-Destor fault zone completely. The first three drill holes (POR02-115 to POR02-117), carried out north of Lake Hebecourt, did not return significant results. However, three out of the four other drill holes carried out in the Nemrod East area indicated a new gold bearing segment of the Porcupine-Destor fault zone. The first interesting results were obtained by drill hole POR02-118 in the Nemrod East area. This drill hole targeted the extension at depth of the showing identified by drill hole POR99-107 (33.7 g Au/t over 0.9 m) drilled by Cambior in 1999. Other interesting results were then obtained in the same area by drill hole POR02-119, located 800 meters to the west of drill hole POR02-118. Given the encouraging results of these two drill holes, five additional drill holes were planned to verify the fault zone in the Nemrod East area on a spacing of 150 to 200 meters between the drill holes. Currently, two of the additional drill holes have been completed.

The gold bearing intersections of the Nemrod East area are located in the northern or central portions of the Porcupine-Destor fault zone. A gold bearing intersection (9.6 g Au/t over 1.45 m) in drill hole POR02-118 is associated with a subsidiary structure located to the north of the fault zone. In drill holes POR02-118 and POR02-120, mineralization consists of quartz-carbonate veins and veinlets containing small quantities of pyrite and intersecting schists and very altered and deformed volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The highest gold grades are associated with the thickest veins. In drill hole POR02-119, mineralization consists of disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite in the matrix of a tectonic breccia.

The highlights of the 2002 drilling campaign appear below. The summary of results from the seven drill holes as well as the longitudinal section and the location and geological maps are attached to this press release.

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                          NEMROD EAST SECTOR
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Drill hole                 Interval         Intersected        Values
                                             Length (1)
                   From (meter)  To (meter)    (meter)       g Au / t
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POR02-118            313.30        314.35        1.05            2.2
                     320.50        321.40        0.90           18.4
                     331.05        333.10        2.05            5.0
                     349.60        350.90        1.30            1.0
                     376.60        378.05        1.45            9.6
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POR02-119            432.60        437.90        5.30            6.0
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POR02-120            291.50        294.30        2.80            8.4
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    (1) Drilling cut the intersected zones at steep angles, thus
approaching the true thicknesses.

Continuation of the Drilling Program

The follow up drilling program will total more than 9,000 meters and will be undertaken partially during the fourth quarter of 2002 and in the first half of 2003. This program will make it possible to verify the extensions of the mineralized intersections as well as the area to the east of the zones currently being drilled over a length of more than two kilometers.

Assay Laboratories and Qualified Person

The assay samples came from core halves varying in length from 0.5 to 1.5 meter. They were sent for assaying at Techni-Lab S.G.B. Abitibi Inc., in Ste-Germaine Boule, Quebec. The samples were assayed using the fire assay technique followed by the atomic absorption method or gravimetry. Up until now, repeat tests on the coarse rejects were carried out on most of the mineralized intersections of interest and on a majority of the samples containing 1 g Au/t or more. These repeat tests were verified by a second independent laboratory, Intertek Testing Services of Val d'Or, and corroborated these results.

The drilling program follow-up was carried out by employees of Cambior, under the supervision of Ms. Marie-France Bugnon, Geologist, M.Sc., Manager of Exploration-Canada. Ms. Bugnon is a qualified person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101) who has been employed by Cambior for more than 6 years and has more than 20 years of exploration experience.

Geology and History

The Porcupine property is located in the Duparquet area, 40 km northwest of Rouyn-Noranda, and is accessible by highway 388. The property is 28 km in length from west to east and covers a strategic segment of the Porcupine-Destor fault zone, one of the major gold bearing structures of the Abitibi volcanic stratiform belt. Within the property, the rocks of the fault zone form a corridor of about 100 to 500 meters in thickness dipping steeply south. These rocks include carbonate, sericite and fuchsite schists and deformed and altered units of mafic to ultramafic volcanic rocks and fine to coarse grained detrital sedimentary rocks.

Along the Porcupine-Destor fault zone, which extends more than 200 km in Ontario and Quebec, is the Timmins mining camp, which has already produced more than 56 million ounces of gold, and five other deposits of more than one million ounces of gold, namely, from west to east: Aquarius, Ross, Holt-McDermott, Holloway and Beattie-Donchester. The Porcupine project is located between the Harker-Holloway mining camp to the west and the Beattie-Donchester camp to the east.

Prospecting and exploration on the Porcupine property led to the discovery of Zone 71 by Cambior in 1988 (inferred resources of 195,000 tonnes at 5.2 g Au/t) and several gold showings, including the Nemrod showing located on the western portion of the property. Mineralizations of interest are located along the Porcupine-Destor fault zone and its subsidiary faults.

On July 15, 1996, Cambior concluded an acquisition agreement by which it could acquire 100% of COGEMA's interests in the property by completing exploration work totalling Cdn $1.8 million by July 2004.

Cambior Inc. is an international gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities throughout the Americas. Cambior's shares trade on the Toronto (TSX) and American (AMEX) stock exchanges under the symbol "CBJ". Cambior's warrants, "CBJ.WT" and "CBJ.WT.B", trade on the TSX.

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 2001 Annual Information Form filed with the securities commissions of all provinces in Canada, and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the TSX and the Amex.

APPENDIX 1

                 CAMBIOR INC. - COGEMA RESOURCES INC.
                DRILL CAMPAIGN RESULTS - FALL 2002
                           PORCUPINE PROJECT

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Drill hole                 Interval         Intersected        Values
                                             Length (1)
                   From (meter)  To (meter)    (meter)       g Au / t
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                      LAKE HEBECOURT NORTH SECTOR
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POR02-115            306.70        312.60        5.90            0.7
POR02-116                                        No significant value
POR02-117                                        No significant value
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                          NEMROD EAST SECTOR
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POR02-118            313.30        314.35        1.05            2.2
                     320.50        321.40        0.90           18.4
                     331.05        333.10        2.05            5.0
                     349.60        350.90        1.30            1.0
                     376.60        378.05        1.45            9.6
                     381.00        382.50        1.50            0.9
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POR02-119            432.60        437.90        5.30            6.0
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POR02-120            291.50        294.30        2.80            8.4

                   Including
                     291.50        292.20        0.70           26.7
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POR02-121            285.30        286.20        No significant value
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    (1) Drilling cut the intersected zones at steep angles, thus
approaching the true thicknesses.

Maps are available at the following addresses:

http://www2.cdn-news.com/database/fax/2000/Porceng1.jpg

http://www2.cdn-news.com/database/fax/2000/Porceng2.jpg