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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal miner Wollongong Coal has conceded that the company is being investigated by the New South Wales Department of Industry and Investment to determine if the company is "fit and proper" to hold a mining licence in the region.
Reports emerged earlier this week that the company was the subject of an investigation by the state government after greens group Lock The Gate Alliance in October 2015 alleged that the miner was not fit for business.
Lock The Gate has stated that Wollongong Coal’s plans to expand the Russell Vale operation pose a risk to drinking water in the region, and has raised concerns about the company’s solvency, citing annual report figures that showed the company’s net liabilities exceeded its assets by some A$721-million.
While Wollongong Coal refused to comment on the investigation, the company said it would cooperate fully with the state government’s investigation.
The Russell Vale mine was placed on care and maintenance in September 2015, in the face of difficult operating and financial conditions; however, Wollongong has continued to seek government approval to expand the underground operation to increase production from one-million tonnes a year to about three-million tonnes a year.
While the New South Wales Planning Assessment Commission in April approved the expansion plans, it did raise concerns regarding the environmental impact of the expansion project and attached a number of conditions to the project’s development.