Almost the entire workforce, estimated at over 200 people, have lost their jobs after the troubled miner told them in early February it was closing.

After five underground gas fires in two years, the NSW Resources Regulator had issued a prohibition notice that stopped mining until it could be satisfied Wollongong Coal could do so safely.

The miner, owned by Indian conglomerate Jindal Steel and Power, responded by announcing it would close.

The move brought an end to a decades-long attempt to mine coal at the Russell Vale and Wongawilli sites, most of which was spent achieving little or no production until the curtains were drawn.

Or so people thought.

An email from company secretary Sanjay Sharma saying the closure was a "business assessment" and the company would be working to get the prohibition notice cleared.

In typically opaque fashion the email, to the mine's Community Consultative Committee, a group of residents the mine is obliged to keep updated about developments, was less than clear about what would happen.

But it clearly leaves the door open to resume mining in the future if the "business option" allows.

In it Mr Sharma said the company was continuing to "work with" the Resources Regulator to lift the prohibition notice.

"Wollongong Resources (WR) is in the process of reducing its workforce as it does not presently intend to resume coal production," Mr Sharma wrote.

"The business option is currently under assessment by the management regarding the future of RVC. This assessment integrates all aspects of the operation and will require time.

"Concurrent with the business assessment WR are continuing to work with NSW Resources Regulator to lift the prohibition notice (No. NTCE0013491)."

The email then described a plan to process coal from Russell Vale at South32's washery at Mt Kembla.

Wollongong Resources may have something to gain from prolonging the process, as a formal closure of the mine would trigger significant rehabilitation obligations - last estimated by the company at more then $215 million.

There are significant concerns the taxpayer will be left with this bill, given the NSW Government holds just $12 million as a bond for Russell Vale, and Wollongong Resources had debts around $1 billion in 2020.

The Mercury asked Wollongong Resources to clarify its plans for Russell Vale, but no response was received - the company's standard practice.

The company's website doesn't even mention the closure of its mine, let along clarify the company's plans.

Since 2020 when it delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange, it has rarely provided any updates to the community or wider public, and does not answer questions from media.

Nic Clyde from anti-coal group Lock the Gate has been close observer of Wollongong Resources for many years.

"An email from one of their directors who was suggesting that they don't presently intend to resume coal production, is a pretty different statement to 'we are definitely closing this mine'," he said.

"So that raises a question of what exactly are they doing and what have they communicated to the new South Wales Government?

"I know they still have about a year and a half of their consent to mine coal, but where the regulator has shut them down, and they've lost confidence that they can actually safely resume mining, that would suggest that they don't really have a whole lot of choice not to close the mine.

"But if that's the case, why don't they just transparently and clearly communicate that to all parties?

"If I'm a local resident, I'm wanting the company to be pretty transparent as well. They're putting up with the noise, the dust, the track movements, all that kind of thing.

"So they deserve a bit of clear communication.

"It's a bit rough on the workers with no notice just to turf everyone out and then start twiddling your thumbs and umming and aahing about what you're actually gonna do.

"Because it's only at that point where there is an actual concrete commitment to close the mine that everyone can start focusing on looking after the workers, and how many of those workers can be re-employed rehabilitating the site and shutting it down."