Bumi will begin operations at Bengalon coal mine in September

Publicly listed PT Bumi Resources Tbk (Bumi) will begin mining operations at Bengalon Area coal mine during the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2004, the Investor Indonesia daily newspaper reported in its Tuesday edition.

“The mining operations in this area (Bengalon) are part of our (company’s) development or expansion strategy for the year 2003-2004. They will begin in the beginning of the fourth quarter (September) of this year,” Bumi Resources’ head investor relations Martinus Peter told the Investor in Jakarta on Monday.

Peter said the building of infrastructure facilities were already completed. It is expected that Bengalon has 169 million tons of coal reserves, which will last for 10 years.

The Bengalon mine site is part of the concession area of coal mining giant PT Kaltim Prima Coal, which was acquired by Bumi last year.

Speaking about the investment amount, Peter said there is no need for Bumi to spend a single cent on this project because the contractor will take care of an estimated US$7 million.

Certainly, the income will be distributed between Bumi and the contractor in line with the agreement reached between the two parties. Peter mentioned that Bumi has set an income target of around $25 million in 2004 from Bengalon.

“For 2005, we have set the target at around $200 million income from the mining operations in this area,” Peter said. (*)