Bukit Baiduri to ramp up 2008 coal production

East Kalimantan miner PT Bukit Baiduri Energi (BBE) is planning to increase coal production to 3.5 million tonnes next year to tap increasing regional demand, a company official said on Friday.

General Manager in charge of Technical Affairs Kristianto told Petromindo.Com in an interview that the company would open a new mining block within the concession in September this year. The new pit is located in 100 hectares of land with mineable, capable of producing 75,000 tonnes per month and could be increased to 200,000 tonnes per month, he said.

The company has produced 1.3MT of coal in the first half of this year, targeting to produce 2.7 MT full year.

Kristiono said that BBE?s 2007 production had been fully booked, and 80 percent of 2008-planned production had been contracted.

The company exports all production to Asian market including Thailand, Taiwan and Hongkong.

BBE mines coal from several pits and transport its production through 20-km haul road to Merandai river port in Kutai Kartanegara regency. Port?s loading capacity is 1,000 tonnes per hour and could service barges of up to 8,000 tonnes-capacity.(denny)