Coal supply key in Griffin collapse

Cor Cordis has been appointed as liquidator of Griffin Coal, joining receivers Deloitte, with the power to potentially cancel a supply deal with power generator Bluewaters.

Deloitte took control of the Collie miner late yesterday, appointed by a syndicate of banks.

That syndicate is led by ICICI, with an 82.5 per cent stake, and four other Asian banks are also involved.

It’s understood Griffin will need its debts to be restructured, after the lending syndicate claimed the miner's liabilities were as high as $US954 million.

Cor Cordis partners Tom Birch and Jeremy Nipps were appointed by Griffin’s director as liquidators.

They will have the power to disclaim contracts or assets, particularly if they are unprofitable, which has long been rumoured to be the case for Griffin's deal with Bluewaters.

That is a power only afforded to liquidators, Business News understands.

But Bluewaters needs the supply to run its two baseload power generators, which produce about 15 per cent of the state's power supply.

It is the latest step in the battle for control of the miner, which was kicked off in recent weeks when Bluewaters sought to appoint a controller.

Griffin Coal headed to court to stop the appointment, although the miner acknowledged supply had fallen short by 400,000 tonnes this year.

That court battle is continuing, with a court hearing this afternoon flagging the dispute between the two parties will continue into late October.

Bluewaters' barrister Joseph Garas acknowledged in court that events had moved on from the intitial legal battle to appoint a controller.

This morning, Deloitte partner Matthew Donnelly said the mine would continue operating, and it would be business as usual.

“We’re running the mine,” Mr Donnelly told Business News.

“Coal is being dug up out of the ground as we speak.

“We don’t anticipate any interruptions.”

He said there would be no changes planned to staff numbers or management at the miner.

A spokesperson for Minister for Energy Bill Johnston said the government was conscious of the legal process under way.

“While the state government is not a direct party to these matters, we understand they will not impact Griffin Coal’s operations at this time,” the spokesperson said.

“The McGowan government continues to provide strong support to transition the Collie economy, with hundreds of millions of dollars invested to develop new industries and create new local jobs.”