KPC commences coal shipment from Bengalon mine

Publicly listed coal mining company PT Bumi Resources Tbk said Monday its subsidiary PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) had commenced shipping coal from the recently developed deposits at Bengalon, East Kalimantan.

Bumi said in a statement that KPC would send coal produced at the Bengalon mine to buyers directly through the use of barges, by transferring the coal from a jetty port at the Lubuk Tutung on to ocean-going vessels.

The Bengalon deposits are located at a distance of 35 km to the north of the Sangatta mine. Up to the end of June 2004, coal reserves at the Bengalon site amounted to more than 150 million tons.

The Bengalon?s coal quality is equal to that of KPC?s Pinang coal, which is low-ash thermal coal and is very popular among Asian producers of electricity.

KPC has awarded a ten-year contract commencing in 2004 to PT Darma Henwa to handle production of coal from the Bengalon deposits. KPC hopes that the mining contractor will produce up to around 3 million tons of coal by the end of 2005. (maya)