Due to increased recycled paper prices and a decline in the demand for newsprint, the mill was closed on 30 September 2012.

However, Snowflake Mill was stuck with a raw product flow which contained contaminants, such as plastic and metals.

[4] Catalyst took steps to upgrade the mill, including investments that allowed the plant to produce finer grades of paper.

[5] Meanwhile, the newsprint demand fell sharply following the Great Recession and the advent of increased online newspaper reading,[3] with demand for newsprint declining with about ten percent per annum from 2009 through 2012.The mill was therefore permanently closed on 30 September 2012, after having provided a negative EBIDTA every year since 2009.

[5] Snowflake Mill was the sole large-scale recipient of waste paper in the Rocky Mountains Region.

The closure had impacts on recycling companies throughout the region, who saw both reduced demand for waste paper—and hence low prices—as well as higher transport costs.

By 2012, there were demands for higher intake quality at all mills, with the least contaminated paper waste being preferred by all recipients.

[3] The assets comprising Snowflake Mill, including the Apache Railway, were sold to Hackman Capital for $13.46 million at an auction held on 17 December 2012.