Berau Coal expects to produce 6.5 million tons this year
Friday, April 27 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
The East Kalimantan-based coal mining company PT Breau Coal plans to produce about 6.5 million tons of coal this year, an increase of about 45 percent from 4.9 million tons in 2000, the company reported on Thursday.
The company's president Jeffrey Mulyono told Petromindo.com that the coal production for the first quarter of 2001 had reached 1.5 million tons, far higher than about 1 million tons in the corresponding period of last year.
Berau coal, which operates a 1,200 kilometer-coal mine in Berau regency, East Kalimantan, expects to further increase its coal production to about 8 million tons in 2002.
Jeffrey attributed the expected sharp increase in the production to the commencement of the production at the Sembarata mine this year.
Berau Coal is 60 percent owned by United Tractors, a subsidiary of PT Astra International Tbk, 30 by PT Amadian Tritunggal and 10 percent by Japanese trading powerhouse Nissho Iwai.
Berau Coal exports its products mainly to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Korea. Berau also sells some of the coal production to several local power plants. (alex)