Cokal: Barging commences at BBM Anak PCI coal project, valuation confirms BBM viability
Wednesday, August 23 2017 - 06:30 AM WIB
Petromindo|Khalsa
ASX-listed coking coal company Cokal Limited said on Wednesday it has completed the initial construction phase and has commenced mining operations of premium PCI coal at BBM Anak, in Indonesia?s Central Kalimantan Province.
The company said in a statement that the mine produces about 10,000 tons per month from the B, C and D Seams close to the Barito River, and that the first barges have arrived on site and have been loaded. The barges are now travelling down the Barito River to take the coal to an Intermediate Stockpile (ISP) downstream at Muara Teweh where domestic customers can collect the coal on larger barges.
?Negotiations are nearing completion with a number of domestic buyers and these will be announced once the supply contracts have been signed,? Cokal said in the statement.
Meanwhile, Cokal also announced completion of its initial evaluation study based on the Valmin Code for its Coal Assets in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The report has estimated a total value of US$209 million, giving a value of US$127 million for Cokal?s share in each of the projects. The valuation is based on the current consensus long term price for hard coking coal of $128/ton and $90/ton for PCI Coal.
Cokal?s recent placement to raise $700,000 has enabled the company to commence mining operations at its BBM Anak PCI coal project. In less than 5 weeks, a one kilometer haul road was constructed from the mine site to the port, and three seams, B, C and D have been uncovered using two excavators, a dozer and two dump trucks.
BBM has the economic benefit of the fact that all coal seams are naturally exposed at the surface, and therefore, the initial mining stages for all open pits involves very low volumes of overburden material to be removed from the coal seams. Consequently, once the barges had arrived at the port, they were loaded within a few days.
Currently, about 1,200 tons will arrive at the intermediate stockpile (ISP) at Muara Teweh before the end of the week as four barges have been loaded and begun travelling down the Barito River.
The team on the ground have worked hard to ensure the mining and loading operation did not introduce any dilution material. The top of the coal seams were cleaned using a flat-edged bucket on an excavator, and subsequently swept clean using brooms and shovels. The barges were washed and scrubbed clean as well.
A high proportion of the workforce (including skilled equipment operators) have been sourced from the local villages which align the Barito River. They are familiar with the conditions and therefore can operate at high efficiency levels.
Cokal said the PCI Coal has excellent quality as outlined in the table below:
| Total Moisture (ar) | 9% |
| Inherent Moisture (ad) | 1.5% |
| Ash (ad) | 5% |
| Volatile Matter (ad) | 10.5% |
| Fixed Carbon (ad) | 83% |
| Total Sulphur (ad) | 0.5% |
| Phosphorus (db) | 0.002% |
| Calorific Value (ad) | 8,200Kcal/kg |
| Calorific Value (ar) | 7,600Kcal/kg |
| HGI | 75 |
The company said this product is a premium quality in the global market.
Currently, Cokal said it is intending to sell the production from BBM Anak to domestic buyers for use in mineral processing smelters which are located throughout the Indonesian archipelago where mineral such as Nickel, Copper, Iron and others are mined. Pricing is currently under negotiations as there is some competitiveness amongst buyers to secure supply from Cokal?s operations.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak