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Indonesia may exempt low-grade coal from royalty hike -energy minister

Indonesia will probably exempt low-grade coal from a planned increase in royalties that coal miners must pay and could decide further royalty policy details in the near future, the energy minister said on Monday.

"For low-calorie (coal) we probably don't need to increase (royalties), but for those with higher calorie, there will probably be an increase," Sudirman Said told reporters on the sidelines of a coal industry conference in Bali.

The hike, which needs approval from the finance ministry, will roughly double the royalties most coal miners pay now.

The increase will apply to holders of newer mining licences, while larger, older-generation firms with so-called Contracts of Work, such as Bumi Resources and Berau Coal Energy , will be unaffected.

Indonesia is the world's top exporter of thermal coal.

source: http://af.reuters.com