Latest news with #Iwatani
West Australian
25-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Federal Government and other creditors facing $300m wipeout on failed mineral sands projects
The Federal Government and other creditors of mineral sands miner Strandline Resources are facing a $300 million wipeout even with the sale of the collapsed company's flagship WA project to Japanese group Iwatani. Iwatani, which already owns South West mineral sands miner Doral, is proposing to take control of the mothballed Coburn mine near Shark Bay from receivers with a $15m cash offer that would see secured creditors repaid less than 5¢ in every dollar they are owed. The deed of company arrangement for Coburn, if approved by creditors next week, would crystallise a loss of about $160m for the project's biggest backer, the government-owned Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. A statutory report by administrators Cor Cordis into the collapse of Strandline and its operating subsidiary Coburn Resources reveals NAIF is owed $167m, having advanced a final $5m just three months before the miner collapsed in February. With bondholders owed $94m and NAB nearly $17m, secured creditors alone are on the hook for Coburn for $277.5m. Under the DOCA, they would likely collectively recover less than $10m, while 224 unsecured mainly trade creditors would share just $1.5m to settle another $49m of claims. Subject to clarification about which company actually employed them, the deed funds would also be used to pay $5 million in outstanding entitlements owed to nearly 170 employees. The ASX-listed Strandline was put into administration on February 21 after its backers ran out of patience with protracted efforts to address Coburn's poor operating performance and restructure the group's hefty debt. Receivers from McGrathNicol took control of the mine under an almost simultaneous appointment by the secured creditors. Strandline spent $260m developing Coburn to exploit a large tonnage, but low-grade deposit, about 300km north of Geraldton. It entered commercial production in November 2022 but struggled from the start, falling well short of the targets assumed in the feasibility study that underpinned the development. Directors sheeted home blame to various factors, including design and construction flaws, unreliable equipment, labour shortages, and higher-than-expected handling and operating costs. However, administrators Thomas Birch and Jeremy Nipps added that Coburn never produced enough to do better than break even. Strandline and Coburn, they said, 'were reliant on funding from lenders to bridge their collective working capital deficit in circumstances where operations were never generating sufficient cash or gross profit'. Iwatani's was one of two proposals received by McGrathNicol after a sale campaign, with the receivers opting for the Japanese company, partly because its offer was better, it had more certainty and it 'would see the continuation of the Coburn project after a short period of care and maintenance'. Iwatani could not be immediately contacted on Friday.
NBC News
14-04-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Talking Shop with Fly By Jing founder Jing Gao
Talking Shop is our series where we talk to interesting people about their most interesting buys. When Jing Gao founded Fly By Jing in 2018, she had one goal: help people bring their favorite Asian flavors home. Prior to starting her company, she ran an underground supper club with a similar intention, and after developing a handful of sauce bases for recipes, she started bottling them to sell. One of those sauces might be in your refrigerator or pantry right now — I practically add Fly By Jing's Sichuan Chili Crisp to anything savory I eat, and use its Sichuan Gold chili oil when I really want to amp up a dish. Of course, Fly By Jing's products are staples in her kitchen, but Gao relies on many others when hosting or cooking dinner for her family. I talked to her about the kitchen essentials she can't live without, plus the food item she used to stuff her suitcase with before flying home from Singapore. 'Zojirushi is the Rolls Royce of rice cookers,' says Gao. 'I use it pretty much every day in my kitchen, and I have a small one because it's just me, my partner and my baby. You just press a button and it makes perfect rice every single time.' Beyond using it for rice, Gao also cooks congee in it. When she's using a wok to boil, steam, stir fry or braise ingredients, Gao's utensil of choice is long wood or bamboo cooking chopsticks. 'They give you more precision when you want to pick things up, and they're really good for separate noodles,' she says. 'Since they're so long, it prevents you from getting your hand all up in the steam and oil that might be splattering.' 'I have a lot of hot pot at home, and whenever I host, I love making it because it's the most simple yet impressive food that just looks beautiful,' says Gao. 'It's such a communal, wonderful experience where you're cooking and eating with friends, and it goes on for hours. It's a huge spread, but all you really did was wash some vegetables, chop some tofu and lay out pre-sliced meats from H-Mart or 99 Ranch.' 'With hot pot, you basically need some kind of a stove on your table,' says Gao. 'I love the Iwatani because you don't need to mess with cords since it runs off gas. You can put it in the middle of your table with your hot pot over it, and it's great for camping, too.' Diaspora Co. Aranya Black Pepper 'I swear by and only use Dispora's black pepper,' says Gao. 'It's the best black pepper and it will make you feel like every black pepper you've had in the past is awful. It's that good.' She also uses the brand's other single-origin, ethically-sourced spices, all of which are 'beautifully packaged' so Gao recommends gifting them to the home cook in your life. Toiro Donabe Steamer Mushi Nabe 'You can make hot pot in any type of pot, but I prefer a donabe, which is a Japanese clay vessel,' she says. 'They've been using it for thousands of years in China and Japan, and there's something about the clay that really holds the heat when you're cooking and amplifies the flavor.' Gao's favorite donabe is from Toiro, a Los Angeles-based brand. 'Toiro's artisan-crafted clay pots are just incredible and their donabe is such a versatile vessel. I cook hot pot in it, but I also use it to cook rice, steam vegetables and make Japanese curries.' Gao has this large donabe from Toiro that comes with a steamer attachment. She often makes soup or rice on the bottom, and salmon and vegetables on top in the steamer. 'It's all about convenience,' says Gao. 'I love making fresh rice, but sometimes, I just do not have the time,' says Gao. 'Having ready-to-eat rice in a bag that you just microwave for a minute is so easy.' She often uses Lundberg's 90-second rice to make fried rice, and adds vegetables and eggs to it. Irvins Salted Egg Salmon Skin Chip Crisps 'The most popular snack brand from Asia is Irvins, which is based in Singapore. I would literally go to Singapore and stop at the airport just to grab these chips,' says Gao. 'They're most famous for their salmon skin chips. Somehow, the way they fry it makes it super crispy and delicious, and they coat it in all kinds of flavors, like salted duck egg.' Why trust NBC Select? I'm a reporter at NBC Select who covers topics like health, fitness, home and kitchen. I interviewed Jing Gao, founder of Fly By Jing and cookbook author, about her favorite products to cook with at home.
