IT has been apparent for a long time that the T4 coal loader proposed for Newcastle by Port Waratah Coal Services was unlikely to be required in the near future, at least.
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Conceived during the heady days of the same resource super-boom that turned Nathan Tinkler into a coal baron with a dream to win approval for his own loader, T4 may have seemed to some like the ultimate blocking move by the industry's dominant incumbent.
Even in the proposal's early days it seemed apparent that enough loading capacity existed at Newcastle in the hands of PWCS and its competitor, Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group, to more than satisfy likely future demand.
And once the amazing political shenanigans over Mr Tinkler's proposal were exposed to public scrutiny the sheen had already faded from the once-in-a-lifetime mining boom and the price of thermal coal had fallen further than most people thought possible.
Still, having invested a considerable sum on its T4 application, PWCS had every reason to stay the course.
The approval it has now won from the Planning Assessment Commission may have been costly, but it ensures PWCS is in the box seat if demand defies expectation and surges again.
The commission has stated that the consent will lapse unless work starts on the loader within five years, an important condition from a competition perspective, but potentially challenging given the global state of commodities markets. Bankers and commentators across the globe are declaring that demand and price won't be bouncing back anytime soon.
Many investors, afraid of seeing their money stranded in loss-making mining projects, are bailing out - many of them also citing a desire to distance themselves from an industry implicated in man-made global warming.
The remarkable plight of Swiss-based Glencore, the owner of major Hunter mine operator Xstrata, has been making headlines around the world. The company has so much debt that some people have begun to question its ability to service its repayments in the long-term if coal prices stay so low.
And Rio Tinto, another big multinational player in the Hunter's coal industry and an important shareholder in PWCS itself, is declining to comment on persistent speculation that it wants to sell its mines. The latest wave of such speculation has been prompted by Rio's sale of its stake in the Bengalla mine to the New Hope Group.
Financial commentators have asserted that Rio is planning "a staggered exit" from Hunter coal. If that's true, it will be intriguing to observe its progress and to see what effect - if any - such divestment might have on PWCS and its plans for extra coal loading capacity at Newcastle.
