Indonesian state-owned miner, PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, has allocated $37 million for acquiring coal mines, the company said on Monday.
Antam said last year it planned to acquire coal mines as it expects coal consumption to rise significantly when it completes a new power plant near its nickel mine in Pomalaa, on Sulawesi island.
"We prepared about $37 million for acquiring coal mines from internal cash. But we don't know yet how much we will actually spend," Bimo Satryo, Antam's corporate secretary said.
"We have not made any deals yet. We are still looking for coal mines," he said.
Antam has said it was conducting due diligence on two coal-mining firms in East Kalimantan as possible acquisitions.
The firm consumes about 200,000 tonnes of coal a year to power its ferro-nickel smelters, but annual consumption may rise to 2 million tonnes once the new power plant is completed.
The $350 million coal-fired power plant, due to be built as a joint venture with an independent power producer, will have a 150-megawatt capacity. It is aimed at reducing ferronickel production costs.
Antam has selected a consortium of PT Nava Bharat and coal miner PT Indika Energy Tbk as potential partners in the development of the power plant.
Construction is due to start at the end of 2010 with commercial operations starting in 2013, the firm said.
But the firm said it could initially sell coal, before its power plant is up and running.
Antam, 65 percent-owned by the Indonesian government, is involved in the exploration and production of nickel ore, bauxite and iron sands, smelting of ferro-nickel, as well as the exploration, production and refining of gold and silver.
Source: Reuters
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