Tinkler due to appear in court

A warrant for the arrest of Nathan Tinkler will be issued in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday if he fails to appear for a public examination by the liquidator of his private entity, Mulsanne Resources.

A spokesman for Mr Tinkler did not return calls on Wednesday but the former billionaire was due to fly in from Singapore to attend the court and face questions over a $28.4 million debt Mulsanne owed to listed coal explorer Blackwood Corporation under a share placement agreement reached last year.

Attempts to settle the dispute - including an unfunded 30¢ a share takeover offer from Mr Tinkler's Singapore-based Cayenne Coal - have so far failed, and on Tuesday Mr Tinkler's attempt to stop the examination proceedings over an alleged "abuse of process" were dismissed as "tenuous" by Justice Paul Brereton, with indemnified costs awarded to the liquidator.

Mulsanne liquidator Robyn Duggan, a partner at Ferrier Hodgson, said Mr Tinkler would be first up for examination, followed by company secretary Aimee Hyde and co-directors Matthew Keen and Troy Palmer.

Ms Duggan said the liquidator's barrister, Robert Newlinds, SC, would lead the examination, initially focusing on the share placement agreement, but that questioning could extend to Mr Tinkler's personal financial position.

"In the event we form a view that there have been breaches of the Corporations Act, then we'll need to consider the directors' personal financial position to ascertain their ability to meet any claim for compensation," she said.

"If we attend court tomorrow and we call on Mr Tinkler as first examinee and if he fails to attend, he will be in contempt of court and we will be within our rights to ask the court to issue a warrant for his arrest."