Essar Energy secures forest permit for coal block in Kalimantan
Saturday, June 9 2012 - 01:46 AM WIB
India-focused energy company Essar Energy said that it has received final forest approval for its 5,000 hectares Aries coal mine in West Kutai region of East Kalimantan which would pave way for the company to soon commence production.
"With Friday's approval, we can now accelerate development at the Aries coal mine to provide fuel for our Salaya I power plant," Naresh Nayyar, CEO of Essar Energy, said in a statement.
Essar Energy acquired a 100 percent interest in the Aries coal mine in April 2010 for $118 million with.
A Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliant resource assessment estimates that the block contains approximately 64 million tons of mineable reserves with an annual potential production of 4 million tons of coal, it said.
Unit 1 of Salaya I (600 MW), has already entered commercial operations, and unit 2 (also 600MW) is near completion.
Fuel for the Salaya I power project is being supplied under a fixed price coal contract with Essar Shipping and Logistics Limited of Cyprus.
Editing by Adianto P. Simamora