New coal mine in West Papua begins operation
Wednesday, December 22 2004 - 02:45 AM WIB
The regent of Raja Empat, in West Papua ( West Irian Jaya), Marcus Wanma, officially inaugurated the trial operation of a new coal mine in the regency on Tuesday in a traditional ceremony attended by the chiefs of the local tribes.
The 10,000 hectare coal mine is developed by local company PT Papua Prima Coal (PPC) which is expected to start commercial production late next year. The mining activities are expected to last for 30 years.
In the ceremony, the chiefs of the 12 tribes living near the mining site formally handed over the rights of the land ownership to PT PPC, which in return gave undisclosed amount of "pocket money" to the local residents.
Regent Marcus said that the coal mine would produce low-grade coal but he said that a number of foreign buyers from Korea, Japan and Taiwan had indicated a strong interest to buy the coal. (*)