Administrators, PPB Advisory, decided to take the action due to an unsustainable level of cash outflows, which have been compounded by poor weather impacting production levels and the current low coal prices.

“The administrators have received a number of indicative proposals to restructure the group,” they said in a statement.

“Any proposal capable of resulting in a transaction will be the subject of a formal report to creditors.

“The administrators appreciate the support received from all key stakeholders, including the group's staff, customers and suppliers.”

Last month, the administrators revealed that the ramp-up of coal production from Baralaba was continuing although the company was placed in administration last November.

The Baralaba mine achieved record sales for the December quarter of 463,000 tonnes which was almost double the previous record.

Operations continued to ramp up with the introduction of the second large excavator fleet during November to enable increasing coal sales to be met during 2016.

During the quarter, approximately 1.47 million bank cubic metres of in-pit dumping occurred in the Baralaba North Pit and backfilling of the Baralaba Central Void began with 132,000bcm dumped there.

The approvals timeline for the Baralaba expansion project remains on target for the scheduled increase in production from 1 million tonnes per annum to 3.5Mtpa.