Media Release

Christmas shut down for coal trucking

17 December 2004

Coal producer, Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd, will shut down its coal trucking operation, between Ngakawau coal handling facility and Reefton, for the Christmas period from midnight on Thursday, 23 December 2005.

Coal trucking will resume at daybreak on Wednesday, 5 January 2005, when a reduced number of trucks will operate, during daylight hours only, until the end of March.

The reduction in trucking during the first months of 2005 is due to changes in Toll Rail's train schedule off the West Coast which will increase rail capacity from Ngakawau. With production at Spring Creek Underground Mine, near Greymouth, only coming from development work, the daily coal train schedule will change from four trains out of Ngakawau, one train out of Reefton and two trains out of Spring Creek to five trains from Ngakawau and one from Spring Creek.

Chief Operating Officer, Barry Bragg, says: "We will have to resume 24-hour coal trucking operations after the end of March, but we are working very hard, with Toll Rail, to increase rail capacity as soon as possible. We really want to minimise the number of trucks moving coal from Ngakawau to Reefton movements in the future."

Solid Energy and its trucking contractor, TNL Freighting, recruited staff on short-term contracts for the 24-hour trucking operation. The staff not involved in the reduced operation commencing in January, will be redeployed elsewhere.

For further information contact: Vicki Blyth, Communications Director, Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd, Tel: 03 345 6000, Mobile: 021 670 250 or Neil Reid,TNL Group Ltd, Tel: 03 545 0086 Mobile: 0274 443 114.