Tapin Suthra to boost Bhumi Rantau coal production

PT Tapin Suthra Berjaya (TSB), a joint venture of between PT Hasnur Jaya Utama (Hasnur Group) and PT Padangbara Sukses Makmur, said that the production of its coal unit PT Bhumi Rantau Energi (BRE) was projected to increase to 5 million tons a year by 2013 from only about 500,000 in 2009.

TSB said that the coal production of BRE was still very low at present due to land problems such as uncertainties related to border areas and the status of forest areas in the mining sites.

?This year, the production is projected to increase to between 2 and 2.4 million tons after the problems with the forest ministry have been settled. The production is expected to further increase to 5 million tons in 2013,? TSB?s senior executive Hartanto Indradi told Petromindo.Com on the sidelines of the Coaltrans Asia conference in Bali, recently.

Hartanto also said that TSB would take over the mining operations of BRE in 2013, which is currently handled by mining contractor PT Kalimantan Prima Persada (KPP).

In 2013, TSB also plans to take over the operation of Hasnur Coal Terminal (HCT) which is at present operated by KPP. HCT handles shipment of 1.2 million tons of coal a month. About 10 percent of the coal shipped via HCT is sourced from BRE, while the rest from other mining companies. (denny)