KSM to cut production to 300,000 tons

By Cepi Setiadi

Indonesia coking coal miner PT Kartika Selabumi Mining would slash down its coal production to 300,000 tons this year from 500,000 tons in 2011 from its Kutai Kartanegara mine in East Kalimantan.

MS Marpaung, Commissioner of PT KSM, told Petromindo.com on the sidelines of Kalimantan Coal Conference that the production decrease was due to the lack of demand.

Marpaung said that the demand slow down of thermal coal also hit the price of the coking coal "The price decline of coking coal also affects the coking coal export."

The company exports its coking coal to China, Taiwan and Japan on spot market basis.

KSM has total concession of about 18,000 hectares with total resources of about 20 million tons of which some 4.8 million tons are categorized as mineable reserves.

Editing by Adianto P. Simamora