THE Nathan Tinkler-linked company wanting to restart the disused Dartbrook coalmine from Anglo American has been given another three months to come up with the money to complete the deal.
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In a statement to the stock exchange on Wednesday, Australian Pacific Coal said it and Anglo American had agreed to vary the share purchase agreement for the Dartbrook purchase, extending the “sunset date” for the agreement to April 14, 2017.
In its annual report, published on November 1, 2016, the company said it expected the sale to be “completed by January 2017”.
“The break fee payable under the Agreement has been increased from $500,000 to $1 million,” Thursday’s statment said. “The company will release further information in relation to this agreement when that information is available.”
Australian Pacific Coal stunned the market in late December 2015 when it announced its plan to buy Dartbrook at a time when coal prices were in free-fall.
The presence of Nathan Tinkler – who was still being pursued for debts related to the collapse of his previous empire – piqued a general interest in the purchase, which came at a time of intense anti-coal sentiment.
Although coal’s critics are as vociferous as ever, the coal market has improved and prices have all but doubled in the meantime, with demand again on the rise.
Mr Tinkler stood down as a director of Australian Pacific Coal in February last year, shortly before the court proceedings against him that resulted in his personal bankruptcy.
The annual report shows that between October 30, 2015, and February 9, 2016, Mr Tinkler was paid $340,619 for his services as chief executive and managing director, made up of $140,619 in salary and fees, with $200,000 as a bonus.
Although Australian Pacific Coal showed fortuitous timing in picking the bottom of the coal market, the general investment community seems as yet unconvinced about its chances of success with Dartbrook.
On November 27, 2015, a month before the Dartbrook deal was announced, the company told the stock exchange its market capitalisation – its share price multiplied by the number of shares – amounted to more than $98 million. By January 13 this year its capitalisation was down to $73.9 million, a fall of about 25 per cent.
But if it does complete its purchase, the company will have the rights to an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of coal at Dartbrook, which is midway between Muswellbrook and Scone.
The company says it plans to reopen the underground mine as a bord-and-pillar operation, before seeking approval to start an open-cut mine with a 50-year life.
