Kitty Hawk expands into Central Kalimantan
Monday, August 6 2012 - 08:36 AM WIB
Singapore based Kitty Hawk Natural Resources Pte Ltd recently stated it is currently in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in a coal concession located in East Barito, Central Kalimantan, PT Rizky Barito Timur.
"In this latest project, operations will be wholly managed by Kitty Hawk Pte Ltd (KHPL) which previously managed a coal concession in South Kalimantan," Company Director Vikas Singh told Petromindo.com, adding that over the past year, Kitty Hawk had conducted a detailed legal and geological due diligence on the concession and had drilled 40 drill holes in the 1,200 Ha concession.
The coal concession has average stripping ratio of 1:8, connected by a 40 km hauling road to the Telangbaru jetty area. Kitty Hawk stated it is in discussion to have its own jetty and stockpile in the area. The barging distance is 220 km from the jetty on the Napuk river connecting through Barito river up to Taboneo anchorage.
The company plans on conducting a JORC standard drilling program post acquisition, in which coal produced from the concession will be of 5500-5200 Kcal/kg (GAD) quality.
"I am confident that the concession will enter into production stage by the 1st quarter of 2013, with a capacity of 50,000 metric tons per month," Managing Director Pankaj Bhasin said.
?Current market conditions aren?t favourable for producers and we do see price pressures remaining for some time. However, the mid-term to long-term outlook does remain positive. The opportunity here is for producers such as Kitty Hawk to find innovative ways to reduce costs and remain profitable in the interim. It would be a great booster if coal prices find their previous levels,? he concluded.
Editing by David Mustakim