This was written early last month on website "crikey" in "tips...

This was written early last month on website "crikey" in "tips and rumours"

The cockatoo in the coal mine? Junior Queensland miner Cockatoo Coal, suspended from sharemarket trade a fortnight ago, could be the next casualty of the commodity slump, with sources saying it is headed for voluntary administration. Cockatoo this morning told the ASX that efforts to refinance the company’s $65 million debt were continuing and it would be in a position to make an announcement on January 2, a month later than expected. On Friday, however, credit markets monitor Debtwire added Cockatoo to its “stressed” list, noting the company desperately needed liquidity, could not draw down on a major facility with ANZ as it had failed to satisfy conditions of the loan, was operating at a loss at current coal prices and had fast-approaching take-or-pay liabilities it would struggle to meet to the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) at Gladstone, from March. Cockatoo’s potential failure would follow the collapse of Bandanna Energy, which also planned to export through WICET, and would have implications for coal haulier Aurizon, which has already written off some $45 million in investment in rail links to the terminal and was already forced to defend the project at its AGM last month.