Cokal?s BBM coal project obtains approval for location of river barging terminal

By Romel S. Gurky

ASX-listed global metallurgical coal group Cokal Limited announced on Thursday that it has received written approval from the Indonesian Ministry for Transportation for the location of a river barge loading terminal (Purnama Port) on the Barito River for its flagship Bumi Barito Mineral (BBM) coal project, located in Central Kalimantan.

The approved Purnama Port site covers an area of 150 hectares that includes a 1.5 kilometer Barito River frontage adjacent to the Purnama Village. The Purnama Port will be developed in two stages; with an initial 2 million tons per annum (Mtpa) operation as the first stage and an expansion of up to 6 Mtpa in line with the development of the BBM mine.

Together with the approval of the haul road, the approval of the Purnama Port site secures the locations of the two critical supporting infrastructure required for the BBM Project.

Land acquisition arrangements for the Purnama Port are continuing with the majority of the 150 hectare site being identified as available and appropriate for acquisition. A cooperative collaboration with significant contributions from the local community, land owners and local government helped to ensure this result. The location of the Purnama Port is based on successful operating facilities tailored for shallow draft hopper barging systems.

Geotechnical investigations have been completed for both the on-shore and off-shore components of the Purnama barge loading terminal. The approval of the barge loading terminal now enables Cokal to complete the final earthworks design and costing and remain on track to commence operation in the first half of 2014. This timeframe is consistent with the schedule for the issuing of the Forest Rent Use Permit (Operation / Production) or Izin Pinjam Pakai Kawasan Hutan (IPPKH) for its BBM Coal Project which is expected now in early first quarter of 2014, the company said.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak