Indus Coal seeks more time to restructure debts

OREANDA-NEWS.  Indonesia-focused mine exploration and development firm Indus Coal has asked for more time to try and restructure its debt.

Shares in the firm, which trade on the Australian Securities Exchange, will remain suspended at least until 15 October.

Indus, through its 38pc-owned Indonesian subsidiary BMC, has been involved in the development of the Muko Muko high-grade thermal coal project in western Sumatra's Bengkulu province, along with another large-scale mining project in nearby Jambi province.

Indus was previously granted a forestry permit for the Jambi project and had said it expected to start production at both ventures in 2014. But the firm suspended trading in its shares in September 2014 as it sought to restructure its financing.

Mining firms in Sumatra's Jambi province have been particularly hard hit by the slump in Indonesian coal prices. The region produces high-quality coal, but most mining firms with an interest in the region have previously been small-scale, high-cost operators.

Indus in July said it had signed an initial agreement through BMC and a unnamed Chinese engineering and construction firm to potentially develop a mine mouth coal-fired power plant in Sumatra.