Aneka Tambang brings in 15 new mining COWs

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed mining company PT Aneka Tambang has received 15 new mining contracts of work (COWs) covering 2.4 million hectares in joint ventures with foreign investors.

The 15 COWs are part of 50 COWs awarded by Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana to local and foreign investors Thursday.

Aneka Tambang president Dedy Aditya Sumanegara said his company's new 15 COWs brought the number of its mining contracts to 89, including 73 wholly owned by the company.

The 15 COWs include 11 contracts for gold mining, bringing the company's gold mining contracts to 58 in number, he said following the awarding of the new contracts.

The 15 COWs also include two COWs for nickel mining and one COW for diamond mining, bringing Aneka Tambang's nickel mining contracts to 11 and diamond mining contracts to six, Dedy said.

Dedy said Aneka Tambang's new diamond mining COW was awarded to its joint venture with Ashton Malaysian Mining Corp. (AMMC) to mine diamond deposits in a total of 3,920 hectares in Martapura, Cempaka and Danau Seran in South Kalimantan.

The joint venture, PT Galuh Cempaka, is 80 percent owned by AMMC -- which is a joint venture between the Malaysian Mining Corp. and Ashton Mining of Australia -- and 20 percent owned by Aneka Tambang.

Dedy said AMMC has spent US$11.3 million to explore the contract area and has bought a $13.1 million dredge with a capacity to dig 2.4 million cubic meters of earth per year.

The joint venture is currently in a trial production phase and is expected to start commercial production next year, Dedy said.

Aneka Tambang has also set up a joint venture with BHP Asia Pacific Nickel Pte. Ltd. -- a subsidiary of Australia's BHP -- to develop nickel and cobalt deposits in a 7,727 hectare area in Gag island, Maluku. Aneka Tambang has a 10 percent share in the venture while BHP maintains 90 percent.

"The contract area is believed to contain 190 million tons of nickel, making it the world's third largest nickel deposit," Dedy said, adding the joint venture planned to produce 40,000 tons of nickel and 3,600 tons of cobalt per year.

Aneka Tambang's other new nickel COW was awarded to its joint venture with Australia's Strand Management Indonesia Pte. Ltd. -- a subsidiary of Australia Strand Minerals -- to develop a nickel mine in a 120,500 hectare area in Halmahera island. The project is 90 percent owned by Strand and 10 percent by Aneka Tambang.

Dedy said Aneka Tambang would develop two gold contract areas in Obi island, Maluku and Gorontalo-Mongondow, North Sulawesi in a joint venture with BHP Minerals Sulawesi.

In a joint venture with Singapore's Aberfoyle Indonesian Investment Pte. Ltd., Aneka Tambang will develop gold contract areas in east Flores, Manggarai and Ngada in East Nusa Tenggara; Bima and Dompu in West Nusa Tenggara; and Kotanopan-South Tapanuli in North Sumatra.

In a joint venture with Canada's Pacific Wildcat Resources, the company will develop gold mines in Mongondow and Minahasa in North Sulawesi.

Aneka Tambang has also set up joint ventures to mine gold with Australia's Herald Resources in Dairi-Karo, North Sumatra; Australia's Western Mining Corp in Solok, West Sumatra; Australia's Pelsart International in Banjar, Kotabaru and Tanah Laut in South Kalimantan; and Canada's Pacific Amber Resources in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan.

Aneka Tambang owns between 15 percent and 30 percent of the stakes in its new gold mining joint ventures. (jsk)