PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal developer Cokal has singed a non-binding heads of agreement with Vietnam’s An PhatLoc General Trading Co to jointly develop shallow draft barging on the Barito River to transport coal from the PT Bumi Barito Minerals (BBM) project area, in Indonesia.
Barges built by An PhatLoc, carrying some 1 700 t of coal can be designed to operate in 3m depth water. If the load is reduced to 1 000 t, they will be able to operate in 1.95 m depth water. This would enable successful barging operations to be undertaken from Cokal’s BBM mining operation over significantly longer periods than conventional draft barges, which are currently used in Indonesia, the company said.
A proposed schedule has been agreed upon to finalise boat specifications and to negotiate commercial terms to purchase four barges and a push boat, with delivery to the Barito River by mid-2019.
Previous feasibility work on the BBM project has determined that a capital investment of $68-million would be required to develop a two-million-tonne-a-year openpit coal mine.