Miner rages against ASX suspension after Covid deaths and illness
Queensland coal miner Terracom has had its shares suspended from trade by the ASX after Covid-related illnesses and deaths in the company meant it missed a deadline to lodge an annual report.
Former Terracom chair Craig Ransley is now at Mayur Resources
The suspension also coincides with one of the biggest price booms for thermal coal in a decade.
The company said it was “extremely disappointed” over the action by the ASX which it claimed was unreasonable.
The suspension is over Terracom’s failure to lodge its annual report on time, but the company said it have been heavily impacted by Covid restrictions and it had tried to get relief from the ASX.
Among the delays it had was that its executive chairman Craig Ransley and chief financial officer Celeste van Tonder were sick with Covid. The company’s commercial manager in South Africa also died from Covid and managing director Daniel McCarthy was in quarantine and was hit by travel delays.
Terracom lodged its preliminary report on August 31 and said it was transparent with shareholders that the audit was ongoing but that its annual accounts would be lodged in the standard timeframe.
“However, since the lodgment of the preliminary report the company has suffered significant Covid related delays and as a result was not in a position to lodge the annual report by September 30,” it told shareholders today.
“The company contacted the ASX earlier in the week to seek confirmation that it was able to obtain the amended ASIC relief. Unfortnately, the ASX advised that because the company did not stipulate in its announcement that it intended to rely on the amended ASIC relief, such relief was not ordinarily available to the company.
“The effect of this requirement by the ASX is that the additional timeframe offered by the Amended ASIC Relief is available to entities which suffer Covid related delay prior to August 31 but not available to entities which suffer delays between August 31 and September 30.”
“The company is extremely disappointed by this decision by the ASX,” Terracom said.
“It believes the position taken is unreasonable and in effect inappropriately restricts the application of the Amended ASIC Relief in curcumstances it was clearly intended to cover to the prejudice of the company and its shareholders.”
