Abterra buys Indonesia iron ore firm

Singapore-listed resources and minerals firm Abterra Ltd. announced on Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary, PT Abterra Resources Indonesia, has entered into a sales and purchase agreement to acquire an iron ore operation in Southern and South-Eastern Kalimantan for US$7.3 million.

?It grants us a ready channel into the resources supply chain in Indonesia. We are not just acquiring an operation, but also their trading partners, logistical arrangements and operational teams, which are major stumbling blocks for many foreign-owned companies,? Abterra?s CEO Lau Yu said in a statement.

Abterra has the necessary funding facilities in place to support its operations and subsequent expansion plans, he said.

The company is expected to produce iron ore fines output of 250,000 MT per annum.

Abterra did not specify the firm that is selling the iron ore mine, only saying the seller was established in late 2006 and has two stockpiles with necessary equipment to receive, process, test and store iron ore. It also has a laboratory to test the grades of iron ore fines samples. The seller has shipped approximately 200,000 metric tons (MT) of iron ore to China. (denny)