Resources Prima unit obtains second ?borrow-use? forestry permit

By Ruli Setiawan

SGX-listed integrated coal mining firm Resources Prima Group Limited announced Thursday that its coal mining subsidiary PT Rinjani Kartanegara has obtained a second ?borrow-use? forest area permit (or IPPKH) for an area covering 897.56 hectares in East Kalimantan.

?The IPPKH2 (second IPPKH) is more than double the size of the existing borrow-use permit for the current operating area of 308.54 ha (IPPKH1),? the company said in a statement.

?Securing IPPKH2 will pave the way for the commencement of further exploration which could lead to an increase in the group?s coal reserves and coal resources,? it added.

Resources Prima also said that based on independently provided outcrop data, IPPKH2 is expected to produce coal with a higher calorific value than IPPKH1, and barring unforeseen circumstances, may lead to an improvement in the average unit price received for the group?s coal.

The company said that once the exploration work and forestry land clearance are completed, the group intends to ramp up production as soon as possible as the existing coal mining facilities including coal hauling road, coal stockpile, coal crushers, conveyor system and jetty facilities can support higher output from both IPPKH1 and IPPKH2.

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.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak