Timah?s coal output, sales reached 1.08 million tons in Jan-Sept

State-controlled tin miner PT Timah Tbk said that its coal business produced 1.087 million tons in the first nine months of the year, slightly up from 1.06 million tons in the same period of last year.

Timah runs the business through mining subsidiary PT Tanjung Alam Jaya (TAJ) and trading arm PT Timah Investasi Mineral (TIM)

?Coal sales are equal with output production,? Timah?s Corporate Secretary Prasetyo B. Saksono told Petromindo.Com Friday.

Earlier, Timah?s president director Wachid Usman said in teh first semester of 2007, TAJ?s output stood at 800,000 tons and was expected to reach 1.5 million tons throughout this year.

He said that TAJ?s deposit has started to run out and will probably last until 2010. "We have collaborated with J-Coal to explore the lower part of the mine to find more deposit. We are still waiting for the result,? he said on Sept 03, 2007.

Timah is also seeking to acquire a number of coal mining firms in South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan provinces. (denny)