Joint venture to mine 1m tons of phosphate

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)