Reuters reported that Indonesian state owned miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk has allocated USD 37 million for acquiring coal mines.

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.

Mr Bimo Satryo corporate secretary of Antam said that "We prepared about USD 37 million for acquiring coal mines from internal cash. But we don't know yet how much we will actually spend. We have not made any deals yet. We are still looking for coal mines.”

Antam has said it was conducting due diligence on two coal mining firms in East Kalimantan as possible acquisitions.

It said that the USD 350 million coal-fired power plant due to be built as a joint venture with an independent power producer will have a 150 MW 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. The firma said that construction is due to start at the end of 2010 with commercial operations starting in 2013.

(Sourced from Reuters)