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- Australian Pacific Coal (AQC) has entered a trading halt ahead of a capital raise
- AQC owns the Dartbrook Coal Project in New South Wales, which has been under care and maintenance for 15 years
- Since mid-2019, the company has tried to restart the project following Independent Planning Commission (IPC) rejection, citing a coal operation wasn’t in the public interest
- At the end of last year, AQC had roughly $450,000 in cash after allocating funds towards a modification appeal and costs associated with care and maintenance
- It also estimated it had less than one quarter left of available funding
- Full details on the raise will be released by no later than March 18
- AQC last traded at 16 cents on Monday, March 15
Australian Pacific Coal (AQC) has entered a trading halt ahead of a capital raise.
It isn’t clear how much AQC is looking to raise or what it will use the money for, but the market will have to wait until no later than Thursday, March 18, to find out.
Australian Pacific Coal owns the Dartbrook Coal Project in New South Wales. In 2006, the mine was placed on care and maintenance due to operational difficulties and lower coal prices.
Since mid-2019, the company has been trying to restart the thermal coal project. However, the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has previously rejected AQC’s request for a five-year extension.
The IPC claimed extending the existing contract wasn’t in the public interest due to the foreseeable impacts a coal operation would have on the environment.
Since then, the company has been working on modifying this decision.
AQC wrapped up the December 2020 quarter with just $450,000 in cash after allocating funds towards the modification appeal, care and maintenance holding costs and corporate admin costs.
As a result, the coal miner said it had just half a quarter left of available funding. To combat this, Australian Pacific Coal planned to reduce operating expenditure while utilising unsecured loans from a cornerstone investor.
Therefore, it is likely the upcoming capital raise will be used strengthen its financial position and perhaps cover any costs with the Dartbrook Coal Project.
AQC last traded at 16 cents on Monday, March 15.
