Cook Colliery operator Bounty Mining has gone into voluntary administration after a string of setbacks, including rockfalls at the Blackwater district mine in October.

The company has appointed Robert Hutson and Jarrod Villani of KordaMentha as administrators and PWC has taken the reins as receivers and managers of the business.

A spokesman or PWC said about 170 contractors at Cook had been informed that, at this time, their services would unfortunately no longer be required.

He said there were about 40 direct employees of the business and they remained employed.

In a statement to the ASX, Bounty said the move followed a period of depressed coking coal prices, production shortfalls following roof-falls and the inability to source enough extra funds for the planned transition to place-change mining.

The appointment of administrators prompted Bounty’s primary lender, QCoal Bounty Holdings, to appoint Ben Campbell and Chris Hill of PWC as receivers and managers of Bounty and its subsidiaries.

They will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the group’s business.

“We intend to transition the Cook Colliery’s operations into care and maintenance whilst we undertake an urgent assessment of the business and explore all options to sell and/or restructure the business for the future,” the receivers/managers said.