Timah?s coal unit aims to produce 2m tons this year

By Thomas Sembiring

IDX-listed tin giant PT Timah Tbk said that its newly acquired coal mining unit PT Truba Bara Banyu Enim (TBBE), which operates coal mines in Muara Enim, South Sumatra, aims to produce about two million tons of coal this year.

?TBBE?s production (capacity) currently stands at 2 million tons per year,? Timah Corporate Secretary Agung Nugroho to Petromindo.com on Tuesday.

Timah acquired TBBE, which produces low rank coal, in September of last year. Through subsidiary PT Timah Investasi Mineral controls 99.80 percent shares in the coal mining firm, with the other 0.20 percent held by another Timah subsidiary, docking services firm PT Dok & Perkapalan Air Kantung.

Last year, Timah said that it was exploring the possibility of developing a coal gasification project using the TBEE coal as feedstock as part of the company?s diversification strategy.

But Agung said that another possibility is developing a mine mouth power plant.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak