Fears grow for missing miner Ken Talbot after African plane crash

Fears are growing for the safety of wealthy Queensland mining magnate Ken Talbot after a plane carrying the millionaire and six other mining executives crashed in the Congo region on Saturday.

The plane was chartered by Perth-based iron ore company Sundance Resources, which has a mining project under development in the African nation of Cameroon.

Talbot, who was valued at $965 million on BRW‘s Rich 200 list in late May, is a non-executive director of Sundance Resources and is also the company’s largest shareholder with a 16% stake.

Also missing is Sundance chairman Geoff Wedlock, chief executive Don Lewis, directors Craig Oliver and John Jones, and company secretary John Carr-Gregg. An employee of Talbot’s holding company Talbot Group, Natasha Flason, was also on board, as well as two other passengers and the pilot.

Officials from Cameroon, Congo and Gabon are involved in the air and ground search, which continued overnight.

However, the area is extremely remote and communications are difficult.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Channel Seven this morning that the search was yet to produce any conclusive evidence of the missing plane and executives, and would start again with fixed wing aircraft and helicopters at first light on Monday.

”So there’s been no conclusive result from the search today, West Africa time. It’ll continue tomorrow, but obviously we are very concerned about the safety and well-being of the six Australian mining executives.”

A spokesman for the Talbot Group said overnight that it was hoped that the plane had found somewhere to land safely, although admitted the outlook was grim.

Sundance will ask the Australian Securities Exchange to halt trading in its shares this morning as it focuses on the search and rescue operations.

“Local authorities were immediately notified and the company’s emergency response procedures have been activated and have been operating around the clock, including a dedicated 24-hour emergency response centre at the company’s Western Australian headquarters,” Sundance said in a statement on Sunday night.

Talbot made the bulk of his fortune from founding coal miner Macarthur Coal, and made around $640 million when he sold out of the company in May 2008.

Since then, he has emerged as an astute stock picker, buying shares in small mining companies through his company, Talbout Group.

SmartCompany recently predicted Talbot, who is married with four children, would become a billionaire in the next few years.

In recent months, Talbot has flagged his intentions of returning to the world of mine development in Australia and overseas.

However, in recent years a dark cloud has hung over Talbot’s career.

In August he is due to face court over charges he made 35 corrupt payments to former Queensland Cabinet minister Gordon Nuttall, who was jailed last year for seven years for accepting 36 payments from Talbot and another businessman, Harold Shand.

Talbot has always denied the charges.