Rio Tinto,BP set new deadline

Rio Tinto,BP set new deadline

JAKARTA: PT Kaltim Prima Coal, a joint venture between Anglo- Australian mining company Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) and BP PLC (BP), said Monday the government agreed to extend a deadline to resolve a dispute over the sale of a 51 percent stake in the coal miner to July 31.

After a series of delays caused by a fight with the East Kalimantan government over control of the mine, the government set June 30 as a new deadline to transfer the shares.

East Kalimantan contends Kaltim Prima must sell it the 51 percent stake in Indonesia's most profitable mine - valued around US$410 million - ahead of an offer to other local investors.

The provincial government has taken legal action in the South Jakarta District Court to try and force the transfer of the stake. Earlier this year, the court froze the 51 percent stake.

Kaltim Prima's contract - drawn up under former dictator Suharto's government - doesn't stipulate who should get first call on the shares. The company refuses to let the provincial government force it to hand over the stake.

The mining company has asked the government to mediate the dispute.

A number of other investors - many linked to Suharto-era business tycoons - have sprung up since the decentralization laws came into effect, to bid for the 51 percent stake. Dow Jones