Wollongong mine directors quietly quit just weeks before closures

The resignations of Andrew Firek, who had been with the miner for more than a decade, and Dipen Rughani, who was on the audit committee, came 10 days after an underground gas fire which would prove to be the end of the mine at Russell Vale.

But the departures would have gone unseen by anyone who was not watching Wollongong Resources particularly closely, as the resignations were not publicly declared.

When the January 5 underground fire proved serious enough for the NSW Resources Regulator to demand closure of the mine until it was resolved, the Mercury investigated and revealed it was the fifth gas fire there in less than two years.

The last one led to a prohibition order from the regulator at first for the specific mining area involved, and then for the whole mine.

Some time in the month after this, Wollongong Resources' parent company Jindal Steel and Power decided it had thrown enough money into this mine without much return, and pulled the pin.

The decision put up to 300 people out of work, according to an estimate Wollongong Resources communicated to the coal workers' union.

Dr Firek and Mr Rughani may have seen the writing on the wall - unfortunately for those employed at the mine and their families, it was not writing they were able to see until the company announced on February 5 that it was finished.

Mr Firek had been with the miner through thick and thin - and there had been plenty of thin years - including changes of ownership and financial holes so deep it appeared the light at the tunnel may never materialise.

The Mercury contacted Dr Firek (through Wollongong Resources) and Mr Rughani for comment about their departures. Wollong Resources company secretary Sanjay Sharma was also asked about their departures. No replies were received.

Dr Firek, 78, had decades of experience in the coal industry including with Coalworks, which he headed until a takeover by Whitehaven in 2012.

Dipen Rughani, 56, heads Newland Global, a consultancy firm specialising in Indian-Australian business investment.

The Mercury is not suggesting any impropriety in the directors' decision to leave.

But at a public company their exit would need to have been declared.

Mr Sharma informed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in a form signed January 19, available only via a paid search of ASIC corporate records.

Wollongong Resources no longer delivered public updates about important developments - it had delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in December 2020 and was no longer legally obliged to provide "continuous disclosure".

Its delisting came the year after the NSW Resources Regulator quietly shelved an investigation into whether the company was "fit an proper person" to hold a mining licence.

It was said investors and the community would be kept updated via the company website. But this has not happened - most of the most significant moves in recent years have not rated a mention on wollongongresources.net.au.

So unless workers or community members had been conducting regular (user-pays) company research, they would not have known directors were jumping ship.

Public updates are the Australian corporations law's way to balance the public and private interests contained in a company structure.

A company is able to limit its liability to the value of its shareholdings, even if debts and dues exceed this amount - not a system available to an individual without the corporate shell.

Since a public system (the law, regulated by taxpayer-funded ASIC) facilitates this advantage, the company owes a duty to declare meaningful changes in its business so they can be seen.

Companies listed on the ASX must provide "continuous disclosure" of any developments which would have a material impact on the share price - so investors can decide if they want to buy or sell.

Even when listed, Wollongong Resources had trouble meeting its continuous disclosure requirements. It had to explain itself to the ASIC in 2016 after not disclosing it was being investigated by the NSW Resources Regulator.

But without being listed, there is little scrutiny that can be applied to a company's activities. The public have only a company's good faith - and the work of the media - to help them stay informed. Otherwise, information stays underground along with the coal.