This is a very long post and is really of interest to Metrocoal...

This is a very long post and is really of interest to Metrocoal shareholders. It is very boring for non-holders and possibly even for some existing shareholders. Make no mistake, an investment in Metrocoal is highly speculative, I have no illusions. As to the consideration of underground longwall mining we will have to wait for Concept Studies, PFS and then hopefully DFS. It's the credentials of the guys involved in 3TL that gives me added long term confidence with Metrocoal when it comes to a coal export terminal solution outside of WICET. I believe we have a rail solution in the Surat Basin Rail Project "Southern Missing Link".


Anyhow, a bit of background on 3TL and the guys involved. If anyone knows more, feel free to share.


On 6 June 2011, Tenement To Terminal Ltd (3TL) entered into a a conditional contract with the Minister for Industrial Development of Queensland to purchase 135 hectares of freehold land in the Yarwin Precinct of the Gladstone State Development Area within the Port of Gladstone. The purchase price was approximately $3.4 million (the deposit payable in tranches in line with milestones). Settlement is conditional on various milestones including obtaining development approval, evaluation reports or EIS assessment report, EPBC Act approval and entering into various ancillary project agreements.

On 16 August 2011, 3TL entered into an Investment and Shareholders' Agreement with a subsidiary of Metrocoal. Under this agreement Metrocoal subscribed for a 20% interest in 3TL (2.5 million shares) for a total consideration of $3.5 million in cash. Metrocoal has paid 3TL so far a total of $2.5 million in cash. Final payment of $1 million is due on or before January 2012.

Metrocoal has also entered into a Capacity Priority Agreement with 3TL for up to 15 million tonnes per annum of capacity in the proposed terminal. In consideration of entering this agreement 3TL will receive options to subscribe for 25 million ordinary shares in Metrocoal in four tranches of 6.25 million each, subject to Metrocoal shareholder approval and achieving certain milestones. Further details are in Metrocoal's 16 August announcement.

Tenement To Terminal Ltd (Board of Directors)

Brett Heading (Non-executive director)

Lawyer of 30 years (specialising in corporate law) and is an experienced Director having accepted his first ASX listed company directorship in 1985. He is chairman of Partners of McCullough Robertson. He is currently Chairman of ASX listed Trinity Group and also a director of ASX listed ERM Power Ltd. He was a member of the Takeovers Panel from 1997 to 2009 and is a former long-standing member of the Board of Taxation

Tim Crommelin (Non-executive director)

Executive Chairman of RBS Morgans Limited and has over 35 years experience in corporate finance , capital raising and stockbroking.
Board memberships include Board of Trustees of Brisbane Grammar School (Chairman), Advisory Board Australian National University Investment Committee (Chairman), Abney Hotels Limited (Director), Australian Cancer Research Foundation (Director) Senex Energy Ltd (Director), A P Eagers Ltd (Director) and is also a member of the University of Queensland Senate.
He has served on the Boards of CS Energy (the Queensland Government-owned Electricity Generation Group) and Queensland Gas Company (now part of the BG Group)

Everald Compton (Chairman)

Chairman of Surat Basin Rail Pty Ltd, Chairman of ATEC Rail Group Ltd, Chairman of Steel Mississippi Pty Ltd, Chairman of two Federal Government Panels on Ageing. He recently retired as Chairman of National Seniors Australia.

He has spent thirteen years planning and promoting the Inland Railway which is anticipated to become the catalyst for creating new industries west of the Great dividing range.

In progressing the Inland Railway vision he has also developed working relationships with parliamentarians and bureaucrats in Federal, State and Local governments. Prior to establishing ATEC he practised as an International Fund Raising Consultant for more than 40 years. His company, Everald International, was acknowledged as one of the world's leading consultancies and conducted over 1,000 fund raising campaigns in 25 nations, mainly in the fields of education, culture and the restoration of historic buildings.

Professionally, he is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), Certified Practising marketer (CPM), a Senior Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He was admitted as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 for his services to the community and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for his services to the transport industry.
He is Chairman of the Everald Charitable trust, an Elder of the Uniting Church, and an Honorary Senior Fellow of both the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and Oriel College at Oxford, UK.

His passion as a proponent of inland development through the creation of new mining and rural industries and his commitment to the task of linking them to ports and freight hubs via Inland railway is legendary. He sees 3TL as having a vital role in bringing these very practical visions to fruition at the earliest possible date.
He also has a monthly newsletter called Everald@Large

Michael Schaumburg (Managing Director)

He is a Chartered Professional engineer with 27 years' experience in the Queensland resources and infrastructure industries.
For the first 20 of those years, he specialised in port and harbour related infrastructure for coal, bauxite and sugar export ports. For almost 3 years from 2005 to 2007, Michael held senior roles with the Queensland government including the position of Deputy Coordinator-General during a period of unprecedented economic growth. During this periodhe assisted the Government to accelerate the roll-out of major infrastructure and resource projects across the State including the Surat Basin Rail Project, Coal Infrastructure Program of Actions, Coal Infrastructure Strategic Plan, and the Northern economic Triangle to advance the Northwest Queensland Minerals province.
He is a previous Deputy chair of the Gladstone Economic and Industry Development Board. He spent 12 months with the international construction contractor Laing O'Rourke as their strategic Developments Manager. For the two years until October 2010, he was Project Director and General Manager for ASX listed Liquified Natural Gas Limited.

Michael Hansel (Non-Executive Director)

See Metrocoal 2011 Annual Report p.14


Michael O'Brien (alternate for Michael Hansel) (Non-Executive Director)

See Metrocoal 2011 Annual Report p.15

By the way, apart from the preface (my opinion), the above is public information.