Coking Coal: The Future of Indonesia’s Coal Industry, Here Are the Specifications

Coal is a commodity with a very high level of demand. Yes, in the midst of skyrocketing prices, coal demand has never subsided. Even the increasing interest in new coal types of coking coal has succeeded in making this industry more promising for long-term investment.

So, what are the specifications for coking coal, which is now the new mecca targeted by coal entrepreneurs? To find out the functions, specifications and differences with the types of coal that are usually managed by the Indonesian coal industry, check the reviews below.

What is Coking Coal?

Coking coal is coking coal or also known as metallurgical coal. This type is an exclusive commodity in the development of the coal industry. It is called exclusive because this coal has a higher quality than the coal usually produced by coal companies in Indonesia so far.

This coal is produced by “roasting” in a coking oven in a reduced state. As the temperature increases, the coking coal will become plastic, i.e. it undergoes fusion simultaneously before finally undergoing resolidification and becoming coke particles (coke).
This process is what is meant by “coking” which has now become the official designation for this new type of coal.

The function of the use of coking coal is so broad, it can even be said that some human activities have depended on this type of coal, namely:

• household necessities such as boilers, cars and trains
• wind turbine manufacture
• nuclear power plant
• main alternative to coal-fired energy

Also read: What is Coal? Benefits & Origins of Coal

Coking Coal Specifications with High Selling Value

Coking coal has certain attributes to make it suitable for processing into coke. Coke itself is a hard material that has porosity and high carbon concentration resulting from the heating process of bituminous coal without air at very high temperatures.

The specifications for coking coal with high selling value include the following specifications:

• Water content below 15% (ar)
• Has an ash content below 12% (adb)
• Has a sulfur content below 1% (adb)
• and have an FSI above 6

Difference between Coking Coal and Thermal Coal

Based on its utility, coal is generally divided into 2 types, namely coking coal and thermal coal. Previously, it was discussed about coking coal, so what is the difference between it and thermal coal?

You can check the difference from the following aspects.

1. Industrial Development

Thermal coal is a type of coal that has been produced in Indonesia for a long time, which is more or less since the 1970s, while coking coal only started to intensify in 2010.

2. Benefit Difference

Thermal coal is a type of steaming coal or is often used as a source of heat energy such as PLTU (Steam Power Plant). Meanwhile, coking coal is included in the type of metallurgical coal or is more widely used in the steel industry (metallurgy) as a source of editor to reduce iron ore to iron. That’s why coking coal is usually called by another name, namely metallurgical coal.

3. Based on its Rheological Properties

Another difference is based on the nature of rheology or coking property. The coking coal will swell or expand, then go through a resolidification process which in the end solidifies back into a shaft of coking coal. Meanwhile, thermal coal does not expand as the coking coal passes in its formation.

4. Commercial Value

Based on their commercial value, these two types of coal have different values. Coking coal is considered to have a higher quality than thermal coal so that in general its commercial value is superior.

It’s just that, for the determination of each price is also different. Thermal coal is determined by its calorific value, while coking coal is based on its rheological properties.

Prospects of Indonesian Coking Coal in the Future

PSDMBP (Center for Coal and Geothermal Mineral Resources) together with the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal have been trying to study and characterize metallurgical coal in Indonesia since 2018. Of the 257 areas indicated by metallurgical coal, 69 of them proved to be metallurgical coal with a total resource of 1 .56 billion tons.

Talking about opportunities, Indonesian coking coal has enormous potential and it is estimated that the demand for this type of coal will continue to increase. This belief is based on the high growth in steel production, construction and manufacturing worldwide. Including Indonesia itself has become an industrial country with infrastructure development that continues to increase every year.

Not only in Indonesia, this opportunity is also wide open in a number of countries in Asia that have great interest in coking coal, such as China, Japan, and India. These countries previously supplied coking coal from Australia or America, which were farther away from some of these coal supplying countries.

This automatically becomes a huge opportunity for the new coking coal mining industry, especially the selling value is very high so that the potential profit offered is even greater.

From the explanation above, it can be concluded that the great potential of Indonesian coking coal can expand the wings of coal commodity companies in the future.

Also read: Various Types and Quality of Coal

The Importance of Survey Partners in Exploring Coking Coal

In carrying out mining activities, it is important to conduct surveys and analyzes that include the following:

• Identify mining sites
• Taking sampling and conducting quality assessments
• Make a careful mine design plan

To carry out this stage, experts are needed so that the results of compiling reports are comprehensive. It is important to do this in supporting optimal and efficient coking coal industry activities, as well as minimizing investment risk in the future.

Tribhakti Investama is the right partner to carry out a series of inspection stages. We are a trusted company with more than 25 years of experience. The services provided are in the form of geological investigations, supervision, verification, and certification to maintain the quality value of these mining commodities.

Through www.tribhakti.com, Tribhakti Inspektama is ready at any time to receive consultations to help optimize the development of Indonesia’s coking coal mines, which have huge opportunities in the future.