One rule in mining is that when times are good you've got to salt something away for a rainy day.
Twice in the past decade, Solid Energy has enjoyed revenue close to $1 billion, and aside from last year has returned some healthy profits - and dividends for the Government.
But now it's clear there's nothing in reserve and it's pouring.
Solid's deeply in debt and bankers and the Government are battling to keep alive a firm that once promised to earn the Government up to $1.5 billion by being half-sold through the "mixed-ownership" process.
A bad case of potential hero to zero in two years. So what went wrong?