COAL Indonesia has 5.9 billion short tons of recoverable coal reserves, of which 58.6% is lignite, 26.6% is sub-bituminous, 14.4% is bituminous, and 0.4% anthracite. Sumatra contains roughly two-thirds of Indonesia's total coal reserves, with the balance located in Kalimantan, West Java, and Sulawesi. According to U.S. Embassy reports, Indonesia produced 114 million metric tons of coal in 2003, up 11% from 2002. The entire increased production was exported, primarily to Japan and Taiwan, but also South Korea, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Indonesia plans to double coal production over the next five years, mostly for export to other countries in East Asia and India. The new capacity will come primarily from private mines. The Clough Group of Australia was awarded a $215 million contract for improvements at the Indonesian firm GBP's Kutai mine in East Kalimatan. Another foreign firm with major interests in Indonesian coal mining is Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP).
AQJ Price at posting:
7.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
