Thai Lanna to invest up to US$19 m in new Indonesian coal mine: Report

Thai coal miner Lanna Resources Plc (Lanna), said it plans to invest about 400-800 million Baht (US$9.6-$19.3 million) to build the third coal mine in Indonesia, with an aim at increasing the company's coal production capacity, Business Day of Thailand reported Sunday.

Srihasak Arirachakaran, director of business development of Lanna, said the new project will be completed within next year.

Presently, Lanna is operating two coal mines in East Kalimantan via two subsidiaries in Indonesia ? PT Lanna Harita Indonesia and PT Citra Harita Mineral.

The current combined production capacity of the two companies totals about one million tons a year. The figure is expected to increase to 4-5 million tons annually once it is fully operating, said Srihasak.

The capacity from the new coal mine will partially replace the local production in Lanphun province of Thailand which closed recently, said Srihasak.

Lanna profit is projected to increase to 240 million Baht this year, from 170 million Baht of last year.

Srihasak said the company is likely to reach the goal, given the increasing price of coal and the demand for the products. (*)