Kobe Steel starts Satui UBC demo plant

Kobe Steel, Ltd announced on Thursday the operations of its Upgraded Brown Coal (UBC) Demonstration Plant in Satui, South Kalimantan has begun at the capacity of 600-tonnes per day.

The aim of the demonstration project is to upgrade the brown coal into high-rank coal that can be used for power generation, the company said.

Demonstrative unit would continue until March 2010. Bulk samples of UBC will be supplied for trial use mainly to a number of power companies in Japan and Indonesia.

Following successful demonstration, Kobe Steel will begin commercial marketing of the UBC Process in April 2010, the company said.

The UBC demonstration plant project is being undertaken by the Japan Coal Energy Center (JCOAL), in which Kobe Steel is a member, and is supported by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Total investment is expected to reach US$72 million, of which METI will provide half of the funding.

To carry out this project, Kobe Steel formed partner agreements PT Bumi Resources Tbk and its coal subsidiary, PT Arutmin Indonesia. It then constructed the demonstration plant at Arutmin's Satui mine in South Kalimantan. (alex)