Kideco mine shuts down by govt

Mine inspectors from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources shut down on Monday PT Kideco Jaya Agung?s coal mine in East Kalimantan on safety concerns, the ministry?s offical told Petromindo.com.

Syawaludin Lubis, the head of technical subdirectorate at the Directorate of Mineral and Coal, said most of the mine had been temporarily shut down following a series of fatal accidents there.

?For this year to date, five fatal accidents have occured there,? he said.

The mine will be closed until after Kideco has made a significant improvement on safety at its workplace, he added.

Kideco has projected its output to increase to 40 million tons in 2011, compared with this year's target of 29 million tons and last year?s output at 24.7 million tons.

Kideco is the country?s third largest miner with 50,400 ha concession. Indonesia-listed energy firm PT Indika Energy has a 46 percent stake in Kideco. (godang)