ABK Group increases Q2 coal output by 19%

East Kalimantan coal producer PT.Anugerah Bara Kaltim (ABK) Group said its second quarter 2007 production reached 1.67 million, 19 percent higher compared to last year’s same period production of 1.36 million tonnes.

General Manager Martusin Yapriadi told Petromindo.Com Tuesday that sales for the first quarter reached 1.68 million tonnes versus 1.346 million tonnes last year.

Until the first half of the year, the group has produced 3.2 million tonnes of coal, he said.

ABK Group is expected to produce around 7.3 million tonnes of coal this year and production for third quarter is expected about 1.8-1.9 million tonnes of coal, Martusin said.

This year ABK Group clinched one-year contract starting April 2007 to supply 300,000 tonnes to Indonesia Power’s Tanjung Jati B coal fired power plant, he added

ABK Group operates two mines in East Kalimantan, namely PT ABK and PT Jembayan Muarabara (JMB) and exports a larger part of their production.

JMB, which commenced production early 2005, exports most of its production to Taiwan and South Korea. JMB is 18 percent owned by Japan’s Mitsui Matsushima Co. (denny)