Bounty chairman Gary Cochrane told International Longwall News the fleet hire and labour contract with Chain Valley, which will last until the end of June this year and will replace the 12-month production contract which started in April last year, was a good intermediate position for Bounty.

“We are chasing some bigger, much longer-term things but this contract buys us a little more time,” he said.

“There are a couple of big things happening in the market and the whole coal industry has resurged again – it’s like what recession?

“Something like 4000 different contractors were out of work in Queensland from January to April last year and we were just part of that and now it is all full-on again.”

While the Chain Valley contract will mean work for Bounty’s existing employees, Cochrane said if new contracts were secured the contractor would return to the market to recruit.

“That will be a much better problem to have than making 100 redundant.”

Bounty entered voluntary administration in August last year and re-emerged from administration the next month after raising enough funds to meet obligations that arose from the resulting deed of company arrangement.

Bounty is continuing tendering activity and the board has progressed commercial negotiations for new contracts in Queensland.