Ingwe to expand to RI

Ingwe to expand to RI

RICHARDS BAY, South Africa (Reuter): Ingwe Coal Corp Ltd is
looking to Indonesia and Australia for the capacity expansion
necessary to ensure it maintains its share of the world steam
coal market.

"We need to expand our offshore interests to ensure Ingwe
stays competitive in the world steam coal market," chairman Mick
Davis told analysts and reporters on a visit to the Richards Bay
Coal Terminal yesterday.

Ingwe exported over 24 million tons of coal in 1995.

But the group needs to increase output by around two million
tons per annum to maintain its share of the world steam coal
market, which totaled some 227 million tons in 1995.

To this end, it is pushing ahead with the development of the
Togara South project in Australia and plans to enter the
fledgling, but potentially huge, Indonesian coal mining industry.

Ingwe is also investigating opportunities in Indonesia, where
a boost in power generation in the coming decade and easily
accessible coal reserves were expected to catapult the country
into the position of a major producer.

Large-scale coal production only started in Indonesia in the
early 1980s.

Proven total Indonesian coal reserves were between five and
six billion tons and the country was producing 40 million tons
per annum currently, 30 million tons of which it was exporting.