ITM plans to acquire a new coal concession this year

By Hiski Darmanyana

IDX-listed coal mining company PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk (ITM) plans to acquire a new coal concession this year, but has yet to find suitable target.

?We want (to acquire) coal concession on Kalimantan Island, if possible near with our existing concessions so that the coal quality will be similar to that of ours and close to our existing infrastructure facilities,? Finance Director Edward Manurung told Petromindo.com on Tuesday.

ITM also wants the targeted concession to have a minimum coal reserves of 50 million tons. ?We also prefer concession which has been in production, although we?re also open to greenfield concession,? he added.

ITM, which is part of Thailand?s conglomerate Banpu, currently owns six coal concessions in Kalimantan, four of which are located in East Kalimantan, one in South Kalimantan, and another spans the East and Central Kalimantan. The coal calorific value at the concessions stands at between 5,300-7,300 kcal/kg.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak