Cement works goes without coal
Cockburn Cement has been forced to find emergency fuel supplies for its South West operations after the upheaval at beleaguered Collie mine Griffin Coal severed coal deliveries.
In the latest sign of stress at the Indian-owned coal mine, it has emerged Griffin has not supplied coal to Cockburn Cement since the contractor that ran the operation pulled the pin four weeks ago.
Cockburn has been left scrambling to find contingencies and faces hefty costs given the higher prices charged for alternative fuels such as gas or diesel.
It is believed one option was to buy coal from Worsley Alumina, whose supplies have also been disrupted by the turmoil at Griffin but which, unlike Cockburn, has vast stockpiles in reserve.
"There has been an interruption of coal supply from Griffin," a spokeswoman for Cockburn Cement confirmed. "We are in close discussions with Griffin and are hopeful of coal supplies restarting in the new year."
The revelations come amid frantic efforts by Griffin, which has been mired in controversy since it was bought by infrastructure giant Lanco Infratech for $800 million in 2010, to stem its losses.
Griffin said it had asked its customers, including Bluewaters power station, for a rise in its coal price.
The miner has also flagged major changes to its workforce, which may include sacking staff, cutting or freezing pay and overhauling rosters in a bid to boost relatively low productivity.
Regardless of the corrective measures, Griffin is likely to face a daunting task in securing the equipment it needs to bring the mine's production back to full capacity.
_WestBusiness _ understands the mine has been operating with barely one dig unit since Carna Civil and Mining tore up its contract with Griffin earlier this month.
The decision, which involved Carna removing all of its heavy earthmoving equipment, was the culmination of months of bitter wrangling between the two, during which Carna accused Griffin of repeatedly failing to pay its bills on time.
Energy Minister Mike Nahan rejected giving Griffin a leg up by agreeing to State-owned energy provider Synergy paying more for electricity from Bluewaters power station to fund a coal price rise.
"Lanco have asked for assistance and we have told them bluntly no," Dr Nahan said.
"Lanco has been flopping around like a fish out of water and not paying its bills.
"My view is they either have to get real and act as a good corporate citizen or sell.
"They are not going to get assistance from the State and they've ruined the reputation of Collie around the State."
'Lanco have asked for assistance and we have told them bluntly no.'" Energy Minister * Mike Nahan *
