more good news - testing good, page-2

Hi FF
I post rarely but I read regularly; his latest from "The Australian" gives rise to concern:
Cougar lays off staff after plant closure Andrew Fraser From: The Australian July 24, 2010 12:00AM
THE company behind a new mining plant that closed after inadvertently leaking poison has laid off a majority of its staff.
Underground coal gasification company Cougar Energy yesterday announced to the ASX that the majority of staff at its pilot plant at Kingaroy in southeast Queensland and its offices in Brisbane and Melbourne would have their employment terminated.

It is understood about 20 Cougar Energy employees will lose their jobs, and contractors and other local service providers will also be affected. Managing director Len Walker said the company had to make a decision quickly given the state of its finances and uncertainty as to when the plant would reopen.

The Bligh government shut the plant down last week after traces of cancer-causing compounds benzene and toluene were found in water close to the plant.

Since then, local farmers have accused the government of covering up the test results, and Queensland Resources Minister Stephen Robertson was heckled by farmers when he went to Kingaroy to front a public meeting on Tuesday.

Preliminary testing found that the traces of benzene and toluene were well within drinking water guidelines, and Cougar was initially confident this would be enough for them to quickly reopen the plant.

The government has said that it will wait until a full testing regime is completed before it considers allowing the pilot plant to reopen, and this could take several weeks.

I feel LW has no option at this stage, and shareholder support should remain strong.
I have no comment on the politics as it has all been said on this forum.
Keep up your informative posts.
Jahar