Cambior Secures Dismissal of Omai-Related Class Action.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 1998--CAMBIOR INC. (ME:CBJ) (TSE:CBJ) (AMEX:CBJ) ("Cambior") announces that it has obtained a dismissal of Quebec class action proceedings in connection with the Omai tailings dam failure, in Guyana.

In a judgment released on August 14, 1998, the Honourable Justice G.B. Maughan, of the Superior Court of Quebec, granted Cambior's motion to dismiss the matter declaring that the High Court of Guyana is in a better position to decide the issues raised by the proceedings.

Recherches Internationales Quebec ("R.I.Q."), a vehicle created at the initiative of a Quebec-based non-governmental organization, had filed a Motion for Authorization to Institute a Class Action in March 1997. R.I.Q. claimed to represent some 23,000 Guyanese residents who had allegedly suffered damages in connection with a tailings dam failure and resulting spillage at the Omai gold mine, in Guyana, in August 1995. R.I.Q. claimed Cdn $69,000,000 in damages and injunctive relief on behalf of the class.

Proceedings resulting in the dismissal of the matter, for which the Court also awarded court costs to Cambior against R.I.Q., included nine days of testimony and arguments before the Court and extensive depositions, affidavits and documentary evidence.

In its reasons for judgment, the Court notes in particular that "neither the victims nor their action has any real connection with Quebec." The Court also rejects R.I.Q.'s claim that a hearing of the matter in Guyana would result in a denial of justice for the plaintiffs.

Kenneth George, a retired Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice of Guyana who chaired a six-member Guyanese commission of inquiry into the spill in 1995, was among those who testifed before the Court. Justice Maughan states in his reasons for judgment that "the Court was particularly impressed with the quality of Mr George's evidence. To say the least, his legal credentials are beyond dispute. He testified in a very direct manner and without hyperbole." A favourable report by the Commission led to the resumption of mining operations at Omai in February 1996, some five and a half months after the spill.

Louis P. Gignac, Cambior's President and Chief Executive Officer who himself submitted to three days of questioning by R.I.Q. before the Court, stated "We fully acknowledge the rights of Guyanese residents to seek redress if they believe that they have suffered damages as a result of the tailings dam failure at Omai. However, we maintain that the interests of justice behoove them to seek such redress in Guyana where the issues that they would wish to raise in connection with the spill are so much easier to understand and assess than in Quebec. Naturally, we are pleased that the Superior Court of Quebec has endorsed this position."

Although Cambior has formally undertaken not to object to the jurisdiction of the courts of Guyana should it be sued there, attorneys for R.I.Q. indicated during the hearings before the Court in June that R.I.Q. would not pursue the matter in Guyana if the Superior Court of Quebec declined to hear the case. In Quebec, R.I.Q. has 30 days to act should it wish to appeal the matter to the Quebec Court of Appeal.

In Guyana, approximately 600 claims remain outstanding in connection with the spill against Omai Gold Mines Limited ("OGML"), the 65 percent owned subsidiary of Cambior that owns and operates the Omai Mine. Approximately 250 of such claimants have instituted judicial proceedings in Guyana. The aggregate amount of all outstanding claims does not exceed US $1,000,000.

The three year limitation period for bringing judicial proceedings in Guyana in connection with the spill will expire shortly which would normally render the filing of any subsequent claims ineffective.

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.

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

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              Victoria Putnam, 514/ 878-3166
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