The West Coast's stricken coal miners - Solid Energy and Bathurst Resources - both attended the mining industry's annual New Zealand conference yesterday, to the surprise of many of the 260 delegates.
A decision on Solid Energy's future, and how it will be broken up and sold after being placed in voluntary administration last month is due late this month, while Bathurst is riding a knife edge of commercial viability; at least in a cash positive position but relying on domestic operations to remain afloat.
Many delegates at the annual conference of the New Zealand branch of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy had expected Solid Energy chief executive Dan Clifford not to keep his speaking engagement.
While focusing the majority of his update on implementing health and safety regulations at the mine site, Mr Clifford did say he hoped for the ''right outcome'' for the company, its shareholders and all its staff.
Solid Energy ''would definitely be selling assets in the near future'' but he declined to comment further while the process of voluntary administration was still under way.
Bathurst Resources chief executive Richard Tacon said in an interview the company was ''definitely interested'' in some of the Solid Energy coal assets, but on the other hand ''did not want to grab the poison chalice'' by having unworkable permits at a time of record low prices.
Bathurst has a 2016 target of producing 450,000 tonnes of domestic coal from its three South Island mines, and while preparing to lose West Coast cement maker Holcim as a customer next year, Mr Tacon expected some ''spot sales'' could help offset the loss.
He said regardless of whether Bathurst bought any assets, it could also work with other potential purchasers, Mr Tacon being optimistic there could be synergies in sharing infrastructure or access assets, within a ''complementary joint venture''.
Earlier, in Mr Tacon's presentation to the conference, introduced as a ''survival strategy for tough times'' he said key strategies included the company transitioning from being an explorer to a coal producer, now having its focus on domestic coal supplies, and also targeting cost management.
''The key to survival and growth is on site efficiencies ... get productivity right, focus on the margin, not the coal price,'' he said.
Bathurst had lost the initiative to at least begin production when it was forced into court for about two years over its consents, costing it about $35million, by which time the global price of specialist coking coal had plunged to record lows and it was not viable to mine it for export.
''We expect no change [to global prices] for the next three years ... but really need to take advantage when it does change,'' he said.
He highlighted having just booked the company's third consecutive cash positive quarter, debt having been reduced to $2.5million and the halving of administration costs, which included cutting his own pay.
On the question of how Bathurst could get coal to export markets, Mr Tacon said there had been talks with KiwiRail on railing coal to Lyttelton and a ''workable plan'' was in place, covering the next 10 years.
