Ann: Share Purchase Plan Announcement , page-7

TIM BOREHAM From: The Australian November 07, 2013 12:00AM -
Cockatoo Coal (COK) 5.1c

OLD king coal has been a miserable soul of late, as evidenced by Whitehaven Coal's lacklustre outlook on Monday.But with metallurgical coal, there's a dearth of decent deposits, so anyone who can get their ducks in a row in time for the next steel rebound will not so much be producing dirty lumps of carbon as black gold. Undeterred, Cockatoo has tested investor appetite with a weighty capital raising to further a $285m expansion of its fulfil its Baralaba mine in the Bowen Basin.

Having raised $153m in a placement -- to parties including Hong Kong's Noble Group -- Cockatoo seeks to rustle up $35m from existing holders via a share purchase plan at 4.5c.Along with $250m of debt from ANZ, this should be enough to enlarge Baralaba from the current one million tonnes-a-year output to 3.5mtpa, over a 20-year plus life.

Cockatoo itself reported a $32m loss last year but boss Andrew Lawson says the mine has been operating profitably, even with the PCI product fetching a subdued $US120 a tonne.He notes that in September the BHP-Mitsubishi alliance opened its 4mtpa Daunia coking coal mine, developed for $1.5bn.Given there's money on the table, existing holders should avail of the SPP.

Outsiders should also consider weighing into what's vaunted to be the next Macarthur Coal, the PCI producer acquired by Peabody of the US for $5bn in 2011 -

See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/swanson-keeps-eyes-set-on-avoiding-exposure/story-e6frg9lo-1226754539322#sthash.uQpgEQZh.dpuf