Sakari fully owns Tri Tunggal

By Puspita Maylana Devi

SGX-listed Sakari Resources Limited announced that it had acquired 100 percent of the share capital of PT Tri Tunggal Lestari Bersama (Tri Tunggal), which has an exclusive right of way to convey coal over Pertamina?s gas pipelines that lie to the East of the Separi basin and the Jembayan mine.

Sakari will therefore be able to open an overland route for transporting coal from Jembayan and the Separi region to the coast.

The company said in a press statement on Friday that with the acquisition, it had secured its long-term strategic plan to develop the area around its Jembayan mine and to unlock the wider coal reserves in the Separi basin.

The distance from Jembayan to the coast in a direct overland route would be about 40 kilometres compared to the current route that involves hauling coal some 30 kilometres to the Mahakam River and then barging the coal over distances that exceed 120 kilometres to ship loading anchorages.

Sakari?s pre-feasibility studies indicate that a direct transport route to the East coast (Eastern Corridor) would result in substantial savings in haulage costs for Jembayan.

The Mahakam is increasingly busy as a shipment route for various commodities and an alternative route for transporting coal would significantly facilitate the transportation operations for Jembayan.

In addition to the right of way, Tri Tunggal owns land assets and intellectual property assets in the form of engineering studies for a bridge over the gas pipelines. The cost of the investment in Tri Tunggal was $2.4 million cash. More detailed studies on the Eastern corridor will now be finalized and further announcements on the proposal will be made in due course.

On 13 August 2012 Sakari announced that it had reached a Heads of Agreement to acquire up to 6 concessions to the north of Jembayan. These concessions would also benefit from the alternative transport route. Due diligence drilling of these concessions is scheduled to commence in December 2012.

Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.