KORES consortium acquires Indonesian coal mines

South Korea's state-run Korea Resources Corp (KORES) said on Tuesday that its consortium had acquired a 90 percent stake in Kapuas thermal coal mines in Kalimantan for US$84.15 million.

Under the contract with Persada Kapuas Prima Group, the consortium, also including a Korean resource developing firm Korindo located in Indonesia, has secured 1.6 million tonnes of thermal coal per year for 21 years, while the mines are expected to start production in 2013, KORES said in a statement.

KORES with a 39 percent of stake in the mines will ship 4 million tonnes per year to South Korea, the statement added. It noted South Korea imported 106 million tonnes of thermal coal last year, and of the total, 37.6 million tonnes imported from Indonesia.(*)