merger confirmed

Centennial Coal, Austral halt trading
February 21, 2005 - 12:59PM


Australian coal miners Centennial Coal Ltd and Austral Coal Ltd went into trading halts amid speculation they might be doing a deal over the latter's Tahmoor mine.

Both New South Wales miners called for trading halts ahead of pending announcements.

Intersuisse resources analyst Gavin Wendt said there were rumours the pair might be doing a deal.

"There is talk going around the market, apparently, that Centennial might be looking at buying a chunk of the Tahmoor mine," Mr Wendt said.

Austral Coal's Tahmoor colliery was plagued by equipment problems and roof falls in 2004, but it has started the new year on a brighter note with January production topping 205,014 run of mine tonnes, up from 79,556 tonnes in December.

Centennial shares last traded at $4.07 while Austral Coal's previous trade was $1.02.

The trading halts will be lifted by the start of trade on Wednesday, or when the announcements are released to the market.