Australia’s Tahmoor Colliery announced that 238 full-time equivalent positions will be lost, following liquidators’ confirmation of redundancies as part of the mine’s sale process. The decision to wind up the mine was brought before NSW’s Supreme Court by Coal Mines Insurance, one of the mine’s creditors. It was subsequently approved after the administrators failed to demonstrate secure ongoing funding.
The Tahmoor Colliery, an underground coal mining operation in the Wollondilly region of NSW, is operated by SIMEC Mining, a company within the broader GFG Alliance. British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, who owns the GFG Alliance, placed several hundred miners on paid leave over a year ago after exhausting the company’s cash reserves amid financial turmoil surrounding the ownership group.
Tahmoor’s entry into administration comes soon after GFG rejected a $350 million offer to purchase the mine from a consortium that includes its main contractor, RStar. The mine’s holding company, Liberty Primary Metals Australia (LPMA), was also placed into administration late last year, and in January, an expression of interest process was started for the mine.
The liquidators said they were working with unions, the local council and the federal government to help miners access support and are currently seeking expressions of interest from new potential buyers. They expect the sale process to run for around 12 weeks, marking Tahmoor’s ninth owner since opening in 1979.
Source: www.coalage.com
