Pike River Coal
Encyclopedia
Pike River Coal Ltd is a mining
company listed on the New Zealand and Australian
stock exchanges. The company owns the rights to a premium hard coking coal
resource in the South Island
of New Zealand. Its primary operation was the Pike River Mine
, the site of a mining disaster with 29 deaths
in November 2010.
The company first listed and began trading on the New Zealand Exchange
on 20 July 2007. On 22 November 2010, trading in the company's shares and options was suspended from the New Zealand Exchange at the company's request, pending developments from the mining disaster. On 12 December 2010 the company was placed in receivership.
Pike River Mine is a coal mine located 46 km east of Greymouth
in the West Coast Region
of New Zealand
's South Island. The operation was set up to mine the Brunner
seam, a bituminous coal
deposit with lower ash and varying sulfur content. The high quality coal with low level of mineral contaminants means it can demand premium prices on world markets. Hard coking coal is the most valuable coal
used in the manufacture of steel
.
occurred less than two months after Whittall's appointment as CEO. His first AGM in the role took place on 15 November 2010. Whittall worked for about 24 years in Australia
n mining including underground mining operations in New South Wales
, Australia, for BHP Billiton
, the world's largest mining company. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering
(Mining) and a Master of Business Administration
from the University of Wollongong
in New South Wales. Whittall joined Pike River Coal in 2005. Prior to his role as CEO, Whittall held the position of General Manager Mines and was responsible for on-site construction, mine development and recruitment at the Pike River operation. Whittall became the company spokesperson during the mining disaster.
The previous head of the company was Gordon Ward, who was managing director and CEO from May 2007 until 1 October 2010. Until his departure, Ward had led Pike River Mine from its initial conceptual design for fourteen years,.
The company auditor is KPMG
in Wellington
, New Zealand. The company solicitor is law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
.
On 29 October 2010 Pike River Coal won the Best Investor Website Award, of the country's top 50 listed companies.
Prior to the mine disaster, Pike River Coal Ltd had a market capitalisation varying around NZD400M. Pike River Coal was initially held by New Zealand Oil & Gas (29% stake plus options and bonds as well as the two Indian companies; Gujarat NRE Coke Limited, (17% share), and Saurashtra Fuels Private Limited, (15% share), with the two latter companies intending to buy about half the running production of the mine's coal. After the initial public offering, the percentages changed to NZ Oil and Gas 31%, Gujarat NRE Coke 10%, Saurashtra Fuels 8.5%, private minority shareholders had 7.9% and the remaining 42.5% was sold to the public.
On 12 December 2010, New Zealand Oil & Gas released a statement saying that it had decided to put Pike River Coal into receivership. On 13 December 2010, New Zealand Oil And Gas stated that Pricewaterhouse Coopers had been appointed receivers.
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
company listed on the New Zealand and Australian
ASX
ASX may refer to:* Australian Securities Exchange, the primary stock exchange of Australia* Advanced Stream Redirector, a computer file format listing Windows Media files * Armstrong Siddeley ASX, a British experimental turbojet* John F...
stock exchanges. The company owns the rights to a premium hard coking coal
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
resource in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand. Its primary operation was the Pike River Mine
Pike River mine
The Pike River Mine is a coal mine operated by Pike River Coal north-northeast of Greymouth in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island....
, the site of a mining disaster with 29 deaths
Pike River Mine disaster
The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. A first explosion occurred in the mine at approximately 3:44 pm . At the time of the explosion 31...
in November 2010.
The company first listed and began trading on the New Zealand Exchange
New Zealand Exchange
NZX Limited is a stock exchange located in Wellington, New Zealand. Since July 2005 it has been located in NZX Centre, the renovated Odlins building on the Wellington waterfront...
on 20 July 2007. On 22 November 2010, trading in the company's shares and options was suspended from the New Zealand Exchange at the company's request, pending developments from the mining disaster. On 12 December 2010 the company was placed in receivership.
Pike River Mine is a coal mine located 46 km east of Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
in the West Coast Region
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's South Island. The operation was set up to mine the Brunner
Brunner, New Zealand
Brunner is a town in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. Together with Taylorville and Dobson to the south-west, it had a population of 672 at the 2006 census. It is 12 kilometres to the east of Greymouth, on the south bank of the Grey River. It is on the Midland Line railway near its...
seam, a bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
deposit with lower ash and varying sulfur content. The high quality coal with low level of mineral contaminants means it can demand premium prices on world markets. Hard coking coal is the most valuable coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
used in the manufacture of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
.
Company management
The current CEO of the company, Peter W Whittall, a 29-year veteran miner and mining executive, was appointed in the position 2 October 2010. The Pike River Mine disasterPike River Mine disaster
The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. A first explosion occurred in the mine at approximately 3:44 pm . At the time of the explosion 31...
occurred less than two months after Whittall's appointment as CEO. His first AGM in the role took place on 15 November 2010. Whittall worked for about 24 years in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n mining including underground mining operations in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia, for BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
, the world's largest mining company. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering
Bachelor of Engineering
The Bachelor of Engineering is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at universities in Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland , Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Korea,...
(Mining) and a Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
from the University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
in New South Wales. Whittall joined Pike River Coal in 2005. Prior to his role as CEO, Whittall held the position of General Manager Mines and was responsible for on-site construction, mine development and recruitment at the Pike River operation. Whittall became the company spokesperson during the mining disaster.
The previous head of the company was Gordon Ward, who was managing director and CEO from May 2007 until 1 October 2010. Until his departure, Ward had led Pike River Mine from its initial conceptual design for fourteen years,.
The company auditor is KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand. The company solicitor is law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts is a full-service law firm in New Zealand, founded over 130 years ago. With offices in Auckland and Wellington, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts employs over 200 staff, including 43 partners....
.
On 29 October 2010 Pike River Coal won the Best Investor Website Award, of the country's top 50 listed companies.
History
The company raised NZ$85 million in additional capital for expanding the Pike River Mine in 2007. As of August 2007, over NZ$100 million had already been invested into developing the mine. By June 2010, Pike River Coal had invested a total of $288 million in developing the mine. Pike River Coal reported net operating losses of $39 million in the year to June 2010, and $13 million in 2009.Prior to the mine disaster, Pike River Coal Ltd had a market capitalisation varying around NZD400M. Pike River Coal was initially held by New Zealand Oil & Gas (29% stake plus options and bonds as well as the two Indian companies; Gujarat NRE Coke Limited, (17% share), and Saurashtra Fuels Private Limited, (15% share), with the two latter companies intending to buy about half the running production of the mine's coal. After the initial public offering, the percentages changed to NZ Oil and Gas 31%, Gujarat NRE Coke 10%, Saurashtra Fuels 8.5%, private minority shareholders had 7.9% and the remaining 42.5% was sold to the public.
On 12 December 2010, New Zealand Oil & Gas released a statement saying that it had decided to put Pike River Coal into receivership. On 13 December 2010, New Zealand Oil And Gas stated that Pricewaterhouse Coopers had been appointed receivers.
External links
- Pike River Coal Limited
- 2010 November Shareholder Briefings (pdf) by Peter Whittall, CEO
- http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:VnfCfo3IWHIJ:www.abnnewswire.net/company_reports/rpt/ASX-PRC-344636.pdf+Pike+River+Coal+Ltd+Annual+Report+2010&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj6FrOVc873PvYC7tV8NrfHQB2uBWTxzbcd9vuQcB_kZogxUC8vC8jUsLzP0ifFT7NOltxhq6Bc-tJDg9INg-U_og5NzAkTo550M3t-bp98HzbocJuvqK9GADlYipru19cLlbSY&sig=AHIEtbQRnw-law33QunM1Eukxud_OPfL2QPike River Coal Ltd, Activities Report, Quarter ended 30 September, 2010]
- http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:RkJDgEwqHfYJ:www.pike.co.nz/files/shareholder_reports/Qtly_activities_June08.pdf+Pike+River+Coal+Ltd&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgsX3DMHlCsF0AFYgicvyrFZ9vEYdtLvXxBOXQ1rKNs3GiDeddHlu6pZ-UT3lh3ofZ4TCAzabxh_LUrxVrTTlh5cw41IBW5U6y20O0VdwXJL_gDdRKXq1k6yRD-11ruqffQ-_Fn&sig=AHIEtbQaRteK64AJBOd9ens1cByWhm0HWgPike River Coal Ltd, Activities Report, Quarter ended 30 June, 2008]
- NZ Oil & Gas (NZOG) website