Mining company PT Golden Eagle Energy Tbk (SMMT) is optimistic to increase its coal production target by 15% to 20% in 2023, compared to the 2022’s production, due to its IDR 25 billion capital expenditure (Capex).
Established in 1980, SMMT is a company focusing on coal mining industry owned by PT Rajawali Corpora. Currently, it has two subsidiaries of PT Naga Mas Makmur Jaya with share ownership of 99.99% and PT Rajawali Resources 99.64%.
Achieving 2023 coal target
Golden Eagle has targeted to produce 3 million tons of coal in 2023, which is a projected 20% increase from 2022. By September 2022, the company’s production already reached 2.44 million tons, surpassing the 2021’s production at 2.04 million tons, or a 19% increase.
President Director Roza Permana Putra explained during a public expose on December 16, 2022, that until September 2022, the coal production came from 75% of mining business permits (IUP) in Sumatra. The remaining 25% came from IUP in Kalimantan.
“We are optimistic that in the remaining 2022 we can achieve our expected coal production target,” he said.
The price for the company’s ICI 4 coal in 2022 was set to US$88.41/ton, a 35% increase from December 2021. Meanwhile, the ICI 3 price was set at US$125.99/ton, a 28% increase from December 2021. On the other hand, the Newcastle index was set at US$397/ton, an increase of 124% from December 2021.
“With the current high coal price, SMMT is trying to increase our stripping ratio to be able to maintain our mining pattern,” Putra said, referring to the high coal price due to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.
In the production sector, the company is also opening another pit, hopefully with a better quality to extract. The company will optimize the operational ISP (Intermediate Stockpile) procedure to increase production, increase the number of transport vehicles and increase the productivity of coal logistics at the port.Â
Risks in domestic coal mining sector
Putra said the export ban policy for coal in early 2022 has set the coal price. However, until the end of 2022, the trend has shown the steadily increasing coal prices.
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has kept the trend for high coal prices, causing high demand volatility and global commodity prices to soar. On the other hand, the high demand for coal from Europe due to the incoming winter that causes freezing temperature and limited energy cut from Russia is also a factor to note.
