Arutmin boosts low grade coal production

Arutmin Indonesia will increase its low grade coal production to about 20 million tons a year by 2010 from only about one million a year at present to take the advantage of the growing demand for low grade coal from the country's coal-fired power plants, Kompas daily reported on Tuesday.

"We hope we will be able to produce about 20 million tons of low grade coal a year by 2010," Joko Wintolo, the site manager of Arutmin's Asam Asam coal mine in South Kalimantan.

He said that the low grade coal will be mainly produced from the company's three mining areas in Asam Asam, Senakin and Satui in South Kalimantan.

Arutmin, which is controlled by PT Bumi Resources, produces about 15 million tons of high grade coal at present, or about 18 percent of the country's total coal production. Bumi's other coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) is also one of the country's major coal producer.

Joko said that most of coal producers were not yet interested in producing low grade coal due to the lack of demand. "But with the increase in the number of steam power plants in the country, the production of low grade coal becomes more promising," he added. (*)