Straits eyes RI coal project

Straits eyes RI coal project

MELBOURNE (Reuter): Mining company Straits Resources Ltd's
managing director Brian Rear said yesterday the company was
considering buying a coal project in Indonesia to boost
cashflows, but declined to disclose the likely purchase price.

He also declined to identify the project, which he said was
poised for development in the Kalimantan province.

"We are reviewing the technical data on those opportunities
and looking at commercial realities, and we hope to complete that
work in the next few weeks," Rear told Reuters.

A final decision on whether to buy the project, or possibly
opt for a less mature coal project in the same region, would be
made within six to eight weeks, he said.

Asked how the company would fund such an acquisition and
continue other projects, he said: "We are examining options. We
have A$17 million or so in the bank and we have cashflow...but we
clearly don't have enough funds to do all that, so we will have
to raise money," he said.

"We don't have any debt on our balance sheet, but we would
certainly be looking at raising debt and maybe some equity
raising."

He compared the unidentified project to "the coal equivalent"
of the company's Girilambone copper project in New South Wales.