NATCHEZ &045; Large trucks were rumbling in and out of the campus of International Paper’s Natchez mill Monday morning, a regular occurrence now that demolition has begun.

But two large steel evaporator units taken down Monday were not destined for destruction. They will instead be taken to IP’s Mansfield, La., facility.

Liquefied wood chips collected in those units and were evaporated, said Bill Beasley, site manager for IP.

While the evaporators were not destroyed, Beasley said the demolition process is well under way.

&uot;We’re taking down stuff every day,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s going fine; we’ve had no problems so far.&uot;

Indeed, a sign outside the plant &045; one that usually offered greetings or announcements to employees &045; now reads &uot;Demo has begun.&uot;

The chemical cellulose plant, built more than a half-century ago, closed July 31, 2003, because of poor market conditions.

More than 600 people lost their jobs or transferred to other IP facilities.

Economic development officials said last week that negotiations are ongoing between Adams County and International Paper over sale of all or part of the property.

Local officials hope to use the IP land or buildings as industrial property. EDA board members and Adams County supervisors met in April to discuss options for buying the mill. In June, supervisors voted to approve a $3 million loan from the Mississippi Development Authority to help pay for the proposed purchase.

EDA chairman Woody Allen has said three companies are considering buying at least part of the site, but he could not go into detail about the prospective industries.

Beasley has said there are not plans to demolish the structures the EDA is interested in saving.

The 570-acre property includes several buildings, a power plant and water wells, among other features.