•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Indonesia, Asia’s largest coal exporter, produced 254 million tons of coal in 2009, a 5.8 percent increase from 2008 and well ahead of the government’s 230 million ton target, according to figures released by the Energy Ministry on Thursday.

About 78 percent of the coal was exported to buyers in Japan, China, India, Australia and Africa with the rest used domestically, said Bambang Gatot Ariyono, the Energy Ministry’s director of coal and minerals.

This year, Indonesia is forecast to produce 280 million tons of coal with 75 million tons allocated for domestic use, he said.

Bambang Setiawan, director general of coal, minerals and geothermal energy, said coal exports in 2009 were worth $14.85 billion.

Mining sector investment stood at $1.81 billion in 2009, a 9.5 percent increase from 2008. This year investment is forecast to jump to $2.5 billion.

The government also reported that production of other types of minerals increased in 2009: copper production rose 32 percent 864,676 tons; gold production leapt 64 percent to 105,404 kilograms; silver production was up 2.7 percent to 232,064 kg; tin output climbed 45.8 percent to 105,000 tons; bauxite production rose by 2 percent to 10.08 million metric tons; nickel ore output increased by 2 percent to 10.8 million tons; and ferronickel production increased by 1.9 percent to 17,917 metric tons.

Indonesia produced no diamonds in 2009 as the major diamond company, PT Galuh Cempaka, jointly-owned by Gem Diamonds and state-owned PT Aneka Tambang, halted operations due to the slump in diamond prices, Bambang Gatot said. “They also faced environmental issues,” he said, adding that Galuh Cempaka may not resume production this year.