PTBA allocates Rp 5 trillion for mine acquisition

By Hiski Darmayana

State owned coal mining company PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) said that it has allocated about Rp 5 trillion for acquisition of coal mining areas in Kalimantan.

PTBA President Milawarma said that the company is still negotiating the possible acquisition of two coal mines in Kalimantan which were predicted to have coal reserves of 7.3 billion tons.

?We can provide up to Rp 5 trillion for acquisition," he said adding that the acquisition was actually not intended to increase coal reserves. ?The acquisition is not intended to increase reserves but to seek coal with higher value,? he said, adding that PTBA would go ahead with the acquisition plan only if the mining areas have coal reserves of above 5,500 Kcal/kg.

The company targets to increase production by 35 percent to 17.42 million tons this year, and expects to be able to sell about 18.67 million tons in the same period.

Editing by Adianto P. Simamora