Wollongong Coal has defended itself over not disclosing to shareholders that it was being investigated by the NSW Resources Regulator.
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In response to a “please explain” notice from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the miner said it did not believe the investigation would have a “material affect” on the price of its shares.
And it said it did not want to “draw undue attention to such information”, which could be “misleading”.
In a first for NSW mining regulation, Wollongong Coal Limited (WCL) is being investigated as to whether it is a “fit and proper person” to hold a licence.
The Resources Regulator is probing whether WCL’s financial position, poor record of compliance with legal conditions, and corporate behaviour might disqualify it from holding a licence.
WCL did not inform the ASX about the probe until after the Mercury broke the news on September 1. The company’s disclosure came early the following day.
WCL has now told the ASX that it learned of the probe on July 21, but did not consider the investigation to be “information that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect” on the share price.
“Having taken legal advice, the company’s view is that there is no proper legal basis for such an investigation to be made and no reasonable prospect that there would be a finding by the department that the directors of the company are not “fit and proper”.
“Having formed the view that the information is not information that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the price or value of its securities and indeed that it is misleading, the company considered it would not be proper to draw undue attention to such information.”
The declaration does not explain why WCL did disclose the investigation, following the Mercury’s report.
The “please explain” letter from the ASX warned WCL company secretary Sanjay Sharma the ASX may consider suspending WCL shares if a response was not received by 9.30am on September 13.
