Resources Prima obtains in-principle approval for forestry permit
Saturday, January 9 2016 - 04:30 AM WIB
SGX-listed integrated coal mining firm Resources Prima Group Limited said that its subsidiary, PT Rinjani Kartanegara, had, on January 6, received the in-principle approval for the ?borrow-use? permit (or IPPKH2, which allows applicants to clear forested land to commence mining operations) from the Head of Investment Coordinating Board of the Republic of Indonesia for and on behalf of the Minister of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia.
?The issuance of the In-Principle IPPKH2 is a critical final step for the issuance of the IPPKH2,? the company said in a statement Friday.
PT Rinjani has been granted a Production Operation IUP permit to carry out coal mining operations in an area covering approximately 1,933 hectares in the District of Loa Janan and Loa Kulu, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, Province of East Kalimantan. The tenure for the Mining Concession Area is held under the Production Operation IUP which was granted on November 24, 2009 and is valid until November 24, 2021. The existing ?borrow-use? permit issued by the Indonesian Minister of Forestry to PT Rinjani in December 2011 covered 308.54 ha of the Mining Concession Area. As certain areas of the remaining 1,624.46 ha of the Mining Concession Area overlap with the forestry concession area of PT ITCI Hutani Manunggal, the In-Principle IPPKH2 only covers an area of 899.49 ha (Approved Area) and the Overlap Area represents the majority of the area which has been excluded from the Approved Area.
In accordance with the In-Principle IPPKH2, PT Rinjani will work with the Indonesian Minister of Forestry to, amongst others, (i) determine the Approved Area?s boundary coordinates; and (ii) measure and quantify the volume of plants and trees in cubic metres within the boundary?s coordinates, as pre-requisites for the issuance of the IPPKH2 (Procedures). Such Procedures are undertaken to determine PT Rinjani?s financial obligations to the Indonesian Government. Issuance of the IPPKH2 will allow the Group to commence clearance of the forestry land and mining operations in the Approved Area.
Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Agus Sugiono said: ?The issuance of the In-Principle IPPKH2 is a major milestone in obtaining the IPPKH2. We estimate that, together with the Indonesian Minister of Forestry, the Procedures will be completed by the end of March 2016. Barring unforeseen circumstances, with the additional operating area of 899.49 ha which is more than double that of our current operating area of 308.54 ha, we look forward to higher production output once the IPPKH2 is obtained.?
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak