Timah eyeing more Kalimantan coalmines

State tin miner PT. Timah Tbk. Said Tuesday it was conducting due diligence on three coal concessions in Kalimantan.

?Two of the mines are located in East Kalimantan, while the another one located in South Kalimantan,? said president Thobrani Alwi, without giving further detail. He further said that Timah has set aside up to US$ 10 million fund to finance the acquistion.

A source close to the deal said that one of the mining concessions that are targeted by Timah was PT. Delma Mining Corp., which has concession in Berau and Bulungan regencies. According to Petromindo.Com data, the mine, which is still at exploration stage was controlled by Ibrahim Risjad family and has 20 million tons of measured reserves.

Thobrani hoped to be able to complete the acquisition by the end of this year. ?We could acquire on, two or three (mines), depends on due diligence results and negotiations,? he said.

Timah had already had one producing coal mining in East Kalimantan, PT Tambang Alam Jaya, with production this year expected around 500,000 tons. (godang)