News

January 30, 2008

Caledon Starts Continuous Mining, and Begins to Escape from Purgatory

By Alastair Ford

Good news from Caledon Mining, the London listed Australian coal miner: after some delay it’s finally got the continuous mining system up and running at its 176 million tonne Cook coal mine in Queensland. With the coal price currently soaring, the announcement couldn’t come at a better time for the company, although it’s not all been plain sailing, and there are still some hurdles to overcome.

Although delays are part and parcel of the mining industry, the slippage on the upgrade to Cook has put Caledon’s finances under a little bit of pressure, and management too. “It’s been purgatory not being able to say anything”, says chairman Robert Alford, sounding very pleased that he’s at last able to break his silence. He’s confident that the strain on working capital that’s resulted from the delays with the continuous miner can be mitigated by deferring the final £6.7m payment due in March...