Antam increases gold, nickel, bauxite reserves
Wednesday, August 28 2013 - 01:07 AM WIB
State mining firm PT Antam Tbk said that its total reserves and resources as of end of June of 2013 have increased, resulting from exploration activities.
The company said in a statement obtained Wednesday that gold reserves and resources as of end of June of 2013 amounted to 9.5 million dry metric ton (dmt), a 5 percent increase over end of 2012 reserves and resources of 9.0 million dmt.
As of end of June 2013, total nickel reserves and resources rose 4 percent to 855.9 million wet metric ton (wmt) over 2012 reserves and resources of 825.2 million wmt. For bauxite, total reserves and resources as of end of June 2013 reached 546.8 million wmt, a 15 perent increase over total reserves and resources at the end of 2012 of 473.9 million wmt.
In addition to exploration activities in Indonesia, Antam is preparing to conduct exploration activities in Myanmar, focusing on gold. Antam is currently preparing the requirements to begin exploration activity in Myanmar.
Antam?s exploration activities during the first semester in 2013 were focusing on the company?s main commodities, which were consisted of nickel, gold and bauxite, as well other industrial minerals such as coal and zircon. The total unaudited cost for these activities amounted to Rp105.05 billion.
During the first half of 2013, Antam?s gold exploration activities were performed in Bujang and Batulicin, Jambi; Pongkor and Papandayan, West Java as well as Cibaliung, Banten. Gold exploration activity at Bintang Mountains, Papua, is currently on hold inline with the application of borrow use permit for the area. Antam will continue exploration activity in Bintang Mountains when the permit is obtained from the government.
Antan?s nickel exploration activities were conducted in Buli, North Maluku; Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi and Gag Island, West Papua. In relation to bauxite, exploration activities were conducted in Tayan, Mempawah, and Munggu Pasir, West Kalimantan, the company said.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak