Joint venture to mine 1m tons of phosphate

JAKARTA (JP): Kanematsu Corporation of Japan and PT Elang Tanah Mas will start producing one million tons of phosphate per annum from their mining area in Ciamis and Tasikmalaya, both in West Java, next year.

H. Julindo, president of PT Istana Kanematsu Indonesia, a subsidiary of Kanematsu Corporation, told reporters yesterday that the two companies have invested some US$20 million for phosphate exploration in West Java since 1989.

"We plan to increase our investment for phosphate mining to $115 million next year and to $130 million in 1996," he said after meeting with Vice President Try Sutrisno.

He said Kanematsu holds 40 percent interest of the phosphate mining concession and Elang Tanah Mas the remaining 60 percent.

Phosphate, usually used for the production of fertilizer and livestock food, has thus far been imported from countries such as Morocco and Algeria, he said.

"Once our mining starts production, Indonesia will be able to save around $150 million per year from imports of phosphate," he said.

Julindo estimated that around 10,000 hectares of land in West Java have potential reserves of 300 million tons of phosphate.

M.T. Zen, vice chairman of the Agency for Technology Assessment and Application (BPPT), said a study of the agency showed that Central and East Java also have phosphate deposits. (fhp)