PT Timah to acquire coal mines

Indonesia-listed tin producer PT Timah Tbk has secured loans worth about Rp 3 trillion from a syndication of several banks including Bank Mandiri, BRI and a number of foreign banks to finance acquisition of several coal mines, Kompas reported Tuesday.

In addition, the tin miner, which bases its operations in Bangka Belitung, also planned to use the fund to build two new dredging companies and to modify an old dredging ship.

PT Timah president director Wachid Usman said on Monday that the company had assessed coal mines in 14 locations in Kalimantan for acquisition, but none of them had been decided. ?We are considering not only technical and economic, but also their legal aspect of the mining areas,? he said, adding some of the coal mines have overlapping ownership problems. ?The ownership of the areas is claimed by more than two parties,? Wachid said.

Despite such a legal problem, PT Timah Tbk would not stop its plan to acquire coal mines, given the bright prospect of coal market. ?In the domestic alone, the demand from coal-fired power plants reach thousands of tons a month,? he said.

Meanwhile, the company?s corporate secretary Abu Bakar said the company planned to build two dredging ships this year, which would cost about Rp 500 billion, each. The new ships are expected to begin operation in 2013.

The company would also build five sand-sacking ships to further expand undersea mining operations, he said, adding that the ships would begin operation in 2012.(*)