Altura: Q2 output at Delta coal mine up by 11 percent
Thursday, July 31 2014 - 01:54 AM WIB
ASX-listed Altura Mining Ltd reported that production at its Delta coal mine in East Kalimantan during the second quarter of this year increased by 11 percent compared to the corresponding quarter in 2013.
The company said in a statement Thursday, however, that monthly production rate in the quarter ending June was lower at 95,452 tons, compared to the monthly average March quarter of 118,069 tons.
?Contractor productivity remained below plan with contributing factors being higher than expected rainfall and alterations to the mine plan in order to reduce stripping costs. The variation to the mine plan has necessitated changes to the mining fleet allocations in each of the four (4) active pits during the quarter. These changes are focused on increasing production of the higher price yielding coals and reduction of waste haulage distances,? Altura said.
During the quarter the mine operations experienced 53 rainfall affected days for a total of 913 millimeters which is well above the overall March quarter total rainfall (March quarter - 49 rainfall affected days for a total of 566 millimeters), the statement said.
The June quarter average coal price of US$43.35 per ton was lower than the $44.82 average price for the March quarter. Sales for the June quarter totaled 294,228 tons compared to the March quarter of 321,873 tons, Altura said.
?The coal market continues to remain soft with pressure on price and competition for medium grade thermal coal such as Delta Coal?s typical specification,? said Altura.
?The current focus for Delta Coal is to maintain a consistent production profile and maximize coal inventory sales by increasing production of its higher calorific coal reserves,? it added. Delta is currently operating four pits and aims to increase that to five pits during the current quarter. Out of these pits a minimum of three will be producing higher calorie coals.
?Given the current softer market it is intended to maintain production from Delta Coal at 1.5Mtpa rate for the remainder of 2014,? Altura said.
The Delta Coal mine is situated on a 1,260 hectare Izin Usaha Pertambangan (IUP) or Mining Permit in the Mahakam River Delta, in close proximity to the nearby major centers of Balikpapan and Samarinda. Altura has a 33 percent stake in the project.
Production and sales for the quarter were as follows:
| June 2014 Quarter tons | June 2013 Quarter tons | 12 months YTD June 2014 tons | |
| Saleable coal production (100% terms) | 286,625 | 257,775 | 1,376,359 |
| Coal sold (100% terms) | 294,228 | 256,215 | 1,330,279 |
| Saleable coal production (Altura 33⅓%) | 95,542 |
85,925 | 458,787 |
| Coal sold (Altura 33⅓%) share ) | 99,409 | 85,405 | 443,426 |
Elsewhere, the company reported that during the June quarter the focus remained on securing the Pinjam Pakai (Forestry Land / Use permit) for the most northern tenement of Suryaraya Permata Khatulistiwa (SPK) which is intended to be the initial mining area.
SPK is one of the five IUP mining permits within the Tabalong coal mine project in South Kalimantan, in which Altura has a 70 percent stake.
Altura said its consultants have continued to submit additional information to the Ministry of Forestry during the quarter to support the application. The company has appointed two experienced forestry consultants to assist in guiding this complex process with the Ministry of Forestry.
The company said it has been buoyed by recently issued similar permits to other mining companies although these were in different provinces. Altura said it will continue to progress the matter and proceed with the applications, however the exact timing for the issue of the permits remains uncertain.
The Tabalong coal mine, located in South Kalimantan, is projected to initially produce 500,000 tpa of premium grade thermal coal before ramping up to 1.5 Mtpa.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak