PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal developer Cokal is evaluating the technical feasibility of a small-scale initial mine of up to 500 000 t/y in Indonesia.
The company said on Thursday that the objective of the start-up project was to deliver a low capital and low cost operation to produce a premium coal product in a relatively short time frame, and to generate positive cash flow to assist with the funding of the two-million-tonne-a-year Bumi Barito Minerals (BBM) coking coal project.
The start-up project is expected to require a capital investment of between A$10-million and A$12-million to reach production, and construction of the mine could start immediately once funding is secured, as all regulatory approvals have already been acquired.
Cokal noted that project construction would last between six and eight months, with the company now in advanced negotiations with prospective joint venture and funding partners.
The ASX-listed company said that it was considering a funding deal to sell down 50% of the discrete project for partial pre-funding of the mine capital costs, with a number of parties already having been approached.