But she also told reporters yesterday that she did not intend to comment on the negotiations on a daily basis.

The Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group recently raised its bid to more than $A5 billion.

“QCIRG confirms that discussions are continuing with the Queensland government on QCIRG’s proposal for the purchase of the Central Queensland coal network of QR National,” a spokesman for the industry consortium said.

The Bligh government previously expected QRN’s coal chain assets to reach a potential market cap of up to $7 billion after the initial public offering, scheduled for the last three months of 2010.