UPDATE 1-Straits Asia upbeat on meeting 2009 coal output
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JAKARTA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Singapore-listed coal miner Straits Asia (STRL.SI) is still optimistic about meeting its coal output target of 9 million tonnes this year despite the collapse of a new loading facility at its mine in Indonesia, a company official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The firm said last week that a new coal loading facility at its Jembayan mine in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province has collapsed due to heavy rains. [ID:nSIN326650]
Straits Asia was looking at some options to boost output after the collapse, including upgrading capacity at its existing loading facility to between 6.5-7 million tonnes from 5.5 million tonnes annually, Graeme Tivey, Straits Asia's chief financial officer said.
The firm was also looking at the possibility of loading some of the coal via neighbouring miners, as well as buying the fuel from other sources to meet demand from customers, Tivey said.
"All of those things together, can get us out of the problem while we rebuild the loading facility," Tivey told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Coaltrans 3rd Coal Mining Operations and Economics in Jakarta.
(Reporting by Fitri Wulandari; Writing by Tyagita Silka; Editing by Ed Davies)
