RI and Japan tie up for coal exploration
By: George Blunt
Friday, June 23 2000 - 06:30 AM WIB
Indonesian-Japanese joint team had discovered a total of 2,974 tons of coal reserves in South Sumatra after four years of mapping and exploration, a senior official of the Ministry of Mines and Energy said on Thursday.
Director general of mining Surna Tjahja Djajadiningrat said the joint team was formed by director general of mining at Indonesia's Ministry of Mines and Energy and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) at Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (NEDO-MITI) following a cooperation agreement signed by both ministries on July 22, 1996.
The cooperation agreement expires next year, he said.
He said the coal reserves were found in the Banjarsari and South Arahan areas in the contract area of state coal mining company PT Bukit Asam.
During the mapping and exploration works, the joint team managed to map a 15,500 hectare area, drill 80 holes with a total depth of 10,560 meters, conduct geophysical logging on 80 drilling holes and seismic survey on 21-kilometer-long area.
Surna said given the fact that the cooperation had brought a good result, the government expected to extend the cooperation agreement for another five years.
"We hope to continue the cooperation amid the financial constraints currently faced by our government," Surna said, refusing however the amount of fund spent for the exploration activities. (*)