Cokal: Forestry approval confirms BBM mine, haul road, port areas
Wednesday, July 2 2014 - 02:30 AM WIB
ASX-listed Cokal Limited announced Wednesday the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry has approved the so-called ?borrow and use forest area? and issued the ?in-principal forestry permit? for its 60 percent owned Bumi Barito Mineral (BBM) coking coal project (BBM), located in Central Kalimantan.
The company said in a statement that the in-principal forestry permit is the last stage prior to the issuance of the ?borrow and use of forest area permit, which allows the company to start construction and mining.
An Initial area of approximately 1,242 ha has been approved by the Forestry Ministry for the operations of the port, haul road and the initial mine site once the conditions of the in-principal forestry permit are met. In accordance with standard Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources practice, the initial operational area is reviewed by the ministry and extended as required to meet the planned mine development.
Cokal?s Chairman Peter Lynch commented ?We are pleased that the final stage in forestry permitting is nearing completion. The effort of our team to achieve this milestone in the timeframe is testimony of the way in which Cokal has been able to work in a professional manner with stakeholders from all three levels of Government?.
Lynch further commented that ?We have the ability to expand the operation from the initial 2Mtpa up to potentially 6 Mtpa of premium coking coal for future development and this considerably increases our confidence in the success of this exciting project.?
In addition to providing written undertakings regarding the payment of relevant taxes and rehabilitation, Cokal will spend the next 2 to 3 months completing the pegging of the borrow and use forest area and satisfying all the conditions required by the in-principle forestry permit. The timing on this will mainly be driven by the boundary pegging which requires approximately 2,000 concrete boundary pegs to be put in 2 July 2014 Page 2 of 4 place at the boundary of the initial 1,242 ha borrow and use forest area. In parallel Cokal will be finalizing the Platinum Loan documentation to enable final design and construction drawings for the Project to be complete and long lead items order to be placed. This parallel process has been the basis of the construction plan which will enable production early in the second half of 2015.
BBM?s Production IUP covers an area of 14,980 hectares (ha), immediately adjacent to BHP Billiton?s Juloi tenement. The tenement covers ground which has been zoned as Production Forest. Production Forest zones are areas that have been designated by the Central Government of Indonesia to allow for forestry and mining activities by local and international companies.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak