Cascade Coal to appeal cancellation of licences

Cascade Coal, which had its licences cancelled by the NSW government without compensation after a corruption inquiry involving former Labor ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald, will seek to have the decision overturned in the High Court, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

On Thursday, the mining company announced it had filed a writ seeking an order that the legislation passed by the NSW Parliament, allowing for the cancellation of two lucrative exploration licences, was invalid.

It follows a similar move by a former Cascade Coal director, Travers Duncan, and another company, NuCoal Resources, last month.

ANZ hoax emailer’s defence blames journalists

Anti-coal campaigner Jonathan Moylan, who released a fake ANZ media release temporarily wiping $300 million off the market capitalisation of Whitehaven Coal, will learn his fate in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday afternoon, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty to one charge of making a false and misleading statement following the hoax email, a charge that has not been prosecuted before but is generally aimed at those who undermine the transparency of the sharemarket.

But during sentencing submissions, it was not only the Newcastle-based campaigner who was criticised for his role in the debacle. Moylan defence counsel Robert Sutherland, SC, blamed the media for reporting on the fake press release without proper investigation.

BHP to exit manganese in ‘four pillars’ strategy

Mining giants BHP Billiton and Anglo American are said to be in talks to divest their jointly owned South African and Australian manganese assets, with cashed-up investment funds mooted as potential suitors, according to The Australian.

It has been widely flagged that BHP is looking to divest non-core aluminium, coal and nickel assets, which are outside its “four pillars’’ of iron ore, copper, petroleum and coking coal. BHP’s manganese assets sit in its aluminium and nickel business unit.