Intitirta awaiting for court decision to develop its mine
Tuesday, February 12 2013 - 03:06 AM WIB
IDX listed glue producer turned coal miner PT Duta Pertiwi Nusantara is still waiting for the decision of the higher court over the fate of its coal mining subsidiary PT Intitirta Primasakti.
The company has been in a legal battle after the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources terminated the contract of work license of Intitirta. The company then filed a lawsuit to overturn the decision, and in July of 2012 won the legal battle at the Jakarta State Administrative Court. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, however, filed an appeal. Both sides are currently waiting for the ruling of the higher court.
?We are hoping to get decision as soon as possible so we can develop the mine,? a source told Petromindo.com.
Intitirta operates a 46,000 hectare concession in Sorolangun, Batanghari regencies, Jambi Province, and in Musi Banyuasin Regency in South Sumatra Province, which will be reduced to 25,000 hectares once production has started. The mine is third generation of coal contract of work (CCoW)
The company had planned to start coal production in the fourth quarter of 2010. "The company plans to start coal production within 15-18 months after the company gets the license with a capacity of 500,000-750,000 tons per year," the company said in August 2011
Intitirta had carried out a drilling program to obtain JORC-compliant resources. The mine is believed to have an estimated 100-200 million tons in coal resources with CV range of 5,000-5,700 Kcal/kg.
Duta Pertiwi has a 60 percent stake in Intitirta, with PT Ayrus Prima, a local company controlled by shipping magnate Oentoro Surya, controlling the balance.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak