HALIFAX - There are no assurances that a Nova Scotia paper mill on the verge of closure can be saved, even after its workers agreed to cut jobs in a bid to keep the operation running, Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter said Thursday.

Workers at the Bowater Mersey in Brooklyn, N.S., made an "extraordinary sacrifice," Dexter said, one day after they narrowly voted in favour of accepting concessions that would result in the loss of 110 full- and part-time jobs.

Still, Dexter said he couldn't guarantee that the move would salvage the operation, which employees about 300 people and is owned by Resolute Forest Products (TSX:ABH).

"If I've learned anything in this job, it's not to be overly optimistic about any outcome," Dexter said. "It is a work-a-day process."

Dexter said it was one step in a process to help the mill trim labour and production costs to become more competitive.

He said the government was continuing to work to help the company lower costs such as electricity.

Later Thursday, Dexter travelled to the mill, located about two hours southwest of Halifax, in a show of support for workers, local management and municipal officials who have already weighed in by offering tax relief for the operation.

But Dexter said he wasn't yet prepared to offer a specific aid package.

"We are considering a whole suite of options as we did with NewPage," he said.

In the case of the NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill in Point Tupper, N.S., the government has put up a $14-million assistance package that includes training programs and silviculture work for workers who were laid off since that operation closed in September.

Some form of assistance would have to be in place by the new year for the Bowater Mersey mill or it would likely cease operations, Dexter said.

"Since August, it has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride in terms of what our expectations are and I suspect between now and getting it down it will still be a roller-coaster ride," said Dexter.

He has previously said a solution for Bowater Mersey, which is looking at reducing its manufacturing costs from $537 a tonne to $480 a tonne, would include a break on power rates and a cut in production costs from suppliers.

The company is awaiting a decision from the province's Utility and Review Board on electricity rates after officials recently argued for a cost reduction.

The union representing the workers says they have already conceded to 10 per cent wage cuts and benefit clawbacks since signing its last collective agreement in 2009.

The government has said that the closure of Bowater Mersey could affect up to 2,000 others along the province's South Shore.