Cougar Energy to Challenge Coal Gasification Ban

Cougar Energy is trying to get the Queensland Government to reconsider the shutdown of its underground coal gasification site in Kingaroy.

The mining operations were shut down when traces of banned chemicals were found in water bores close by. The company is now claiming that the levels found at the sites were smaller than those detected at coal seam gas operations.

Managing Director of Cougar Energy, Len Walker said that the levels of benzene that have been quoted from the coal seam gas industry that has been recovered in their sampling is substantially higher than the limited number of readings that we've encountered and has not been treated with any significance. He added that he did not think anyone would accept that they had created environmental damage through their activities.

He hoped to make a successful appeal against the decision of the government to shut down the Kingaroy site. The shares in the company went down 53.33 % to 2.1 cents as a trading halt was lifted. The company has till Feb 28 to convince the Queensland's Department of Environment and Resource Management to restart operations at its mine located 170 km north west of Brisbane.