The small Queensland producer of pulverised coal injection-grade metallurgical coal and thermal coal has applied to extend the halt by one week for two consecutive Tuesdays as of yesterday, while the original halt started back in mid-November.

Last month there was press speculation that Cockatoo not only retrenched 40 contractors but was “increasingly unlikely” to clinch a long-flagged funding deal with ANZ.

About a year ago Cockatoo outlined key conditions of a proposed $A255 million Baralaba expansion project finance facility from ANZ that included gaining regulatory approvals, securing offtake agreements for at least 75% of output, a continued commitment from partner JFE Steel and sufficient financing to fund project development to a “P50 contingency”.

Cockatoo received federal environmental approval for the project on December 22 but has not yet won Queensland environmental and mining licence approvals.

While low coal prices are an expected hurdle for the financing talks, Cockatoo is also locked into a contract to rail 3Mtpa of coal to Wiggins Island Export Coal Terminal which will burn cash if the Baralaba expansion project does not go ahead.

The 27 million tonnes per annum coal export facility was expected to start shipping coal in November last year, but that month it was pushed back to March 15.

The Baralaba expansion project aims to lift output from 1 million tonnes per annum to 3.5Mtpa.