Coal miners are looking to boost coking coal production in line with projected growth in the steel industry and the construction and manufacturing sectors, which require the substance as an energy source.
“We project that steel production will grow moderately this year in line with global economic growth,” said coal miner PT Adaro Energy spokeswoman Febriati Nadira over the weekend as quoted by kontan.co.id.
She said through two of PT Adaro Energy’s subsidiaries, Adaro MetCoal Companies (AMC) and Kestrel Coal Resources Pty, the company wanted to boost production of coking coal.
She said Adaro MetCoal Companies (AMC) planned to produce 1 million tons of coking coal, the same amount as last year, while Kestrel Coal Resources Pty aimed to produce 6.5 million tons this year, 39 percent more than last year’s production of 4.67 million tons.
Febriati expressed hope Adaro would boost its coking coal exports to India, Europe, Brazil, Vietnam and Japan. Nadira noted that India’s coking coal market grew significantly this year on the back of increased activity in the construction and the manufacturing sectors.
“The coking coal produced by Adaro MetCoal is to be exported to Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, India, China and Europe,” she said, adding that the coking coal produced by Kestrel would be mostly exported to Japan.
Meanwhile, Astra Group’s PT United Tractors, through its subsidiary PT Suprabari Mapanindo Mineral, also planned to produce 1.5 million tons of coking coal this year, which was higher than last year’s production of 807,000 tons.
“We exported coking coal to Japan,” said Sara K Loebis, United Tractors corporate secretary, adding that the demand for coking coal would increase this year.
PT Golden Energy Mines, is another player in the coking coal industry. The company, through Golden Energy and Resources Limited (GEAR) acquired a coking coal mine from Stanmore Coal in Australia worth US$202 million. (bbn)
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/19/miners-eye-lucrative-prospects-in-coking-coal.html