Coal sales from Barito Utara down: Official

Coal sales volume from coal miners in Barito Utara Regency, Central Kalimantan, in the period of January to August of this year totaled 3.3 million tons, Antara Kalteng reported on Saturday.

The news portal quoted Saifudin, a senior official at the local administration mining office, as saying that the sales volume was lower than that of the previous year?s due the lingering weak coal price. He did not provide comparative figure.

He said that the coal sales volume came from 15 coal mining firms operating in the regency. He said that of those companies, 5 were selling their stocks as they have suspended production and sent workers home due to the coal downturn.

In addition to the price factor, coal sales volume by local miners have also been affected by the condition of the key Barito River transportation system, which heavily depend on weather. He said that if the water level in the Barito River is too high, barges can?t pass under the main bride, while if the river is too shallow, barges can?t operate as well. (*)