Adaro denies manipulating output data

South Kalimantan based coal mining firm PT Adaro Indonesia on Friday denied the accusation the Hulu Sungai Utara (HST) regency in South Kalimantan that the company was manipulating production report in order to lower royalty payment to the local administration.

Adaro administration manager Prijadi dismissed the alleged output data manipulation, insisting that the company?s production reports had been audited by both the government?s and company auditors.

?It (the allegation) is not true. We never manipulate production data,? he told Petromindo.Com.

The accusation was made after PT Adaro had been found recently of selling some 62,000 tons of coal to local company PT BSS. The HST regency?s administration said that the coals were shipped from the company?s mining area in the Paringin district.

According to Morhan, the chairman of the Commission D of the legislative council of the HST regency, PT Adaro, which operates coal concession areas in several agencies in South Kalimantan including HST and Kutai regencies, has so far shipped its coal only to the Paiton power plant in East Java and to some overseas buyers.

Morhan accused that the company only reported the sales of coal to Paiton and overseas buyers so that the company could evade royalty payment from the sales of the thousands tons of coal to PT BSS.

Adaro is the country?s biggest coal producer, targeting production of 20 million tons this year. (godang)