Arutmin commences underground mining pilot project

South Kalimantan based coal miner PT. Arutmin Indonesia said it had started underground mine pilot project in its Satui mine.

?The pilot project begun last month with one underground pit. The aim of the project is to study the underground mining structure and the depth of the pit and to get detailed picture of production capacity before we move to large scale underground mining,? said company?s senior official Sonny Pangestu told Petromindo.Com Friday.

Sonny said if the pilot project was successful the company might commence large scale underground mining next year. He refused to speculate coal output the company was aiming when it decided to commence large scale underground mining.

Arutmin is one of Indonesia top coal producer, which aims to produce 16 million tons of coal this year. The company is controlled by JSX-listed PT. Bumi Resources Tbk. (godang)