TAS: Struggling Tasmanian mine thrown financial lifeline
HOBART, Aug 1 AAP - The state government has thrown troubled Tasmanian tin mine RenisonBell a financial lifeline.
Deputy Premier Paul Lennon today announced the government would provide a $600,000loan to ensure the continued care and maintenance of the mine while the search for a newoperator continued.
"If the mine is not maintained, it will inevitably flood and the cost of returningthe mine to production would not be viable," he said in a statement.
"Renison is one of the state's six major mines and if a new operator can be found,some 170 jobs can expect to be reinstated."
The ailing operation near Zeehan, on the state's west coast, was closed indefinitelyand placed in voluntary administration in June with debts of about $42 million.
The move came less than a month after operations were suspended following a fatalityin an underground rockfall, which effectively blocked a high-production area.
Renison parent company Murchison United NL appointed Mark Reilly, of Featherby Reilly,to investigate recapitalisation options in the face of low commodity prices and a risingAustralian dollar.
A meeting of creditors at the end of this month will be asked to consider a proposalfor the restructure of the company.
One of only two tin mines in Australia, Renison had been in near-continuous productionfor more than 40 years and employed more than 200 workers at its peak.
AAP las/ldj/de
KEYWORD: RENISON
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