More buyers are expected to tour the Georgia-Pacific Corp. mill in Old Town today, and the governor said he expects to have more information by next week regarding the interest of potential buyers.

Gov. John Baldacci, speaking Thursday morning to the Bangor Breakfast Kiwanis, said in an interview after the event that State Economic Development Commissioner Jack Cashman is expected to bring more interested parties to visit the mill today.

When the decision to close the mill was announced March 16, G-P officials stated that the company had agreed to maintain the mill for 60 days to allow the state time to find a buyer.

Members of other clubs in the region also attended the weekly breakfast meeting at a local restaurant, where the governor spoke about the state budget that was passed Wednesday and economic development in the state, and also mentioned the importance of the $6.9 million federal grant the University of Maine recently received.

With the grant funding and a match provided by the university, UM will conduct forest bioproduct research and development in fields including engineering, chemistry, biology, forest ecology and economics.

The money also will be used to build an integrated forest biorefinery.

“We need to be more energy-independent,” Baldacci said, noting that the United States needs to stop relying heavily on Iraq and Iran for fuel.

UM’s method of biorefining entails extracting chemicals from wood chips or shavings before the wood is processed further into pulp or oriented strand board, preserving the quality of the wood for further processing. The chemicals extracted could be sold as new feed stocks or used on-site to manufacture materials such as fuel ethanol, plastics, and specialty chemicals such as coatings.

“Maine’s tackling these problems; we’re not sweeping it under the carpet,” Baldacci said.

Referring to the trickle-down effect that any change in the forest or mill industry has on other areas, the governor mentioned the impact on loggers, truckers and credit unions that a mill closure can have.

“You can’t just sort of pull out one log and not have it connected to something else,” he said.

By the end of the week, the governor said, he anticipates having more information on the potential sale of the G-P mill.

“We should have a pretty good idea at that point what kinds of business opportunities are there,” he said. “I think after the visits, then we’re just going to have to regroup and see where to proceed after that.”

He noted that the city of Old Town has been supportive throughout the process of trying to find a buyer, and the Local 80 papermakers union also has been represented by union President Paul Randall when potential buyers have visited the facility.

Financial information from G-P was made available to buyers earlier this week.

“We’re still cautiously optimistic that we’ll find a buyer within the 60-day time limit,” Baldacci said.