I am currently working at the Satui Mine Site. Satui is one of a number of coal mines run by PT Arutmin Indonesia. The others are Senakin, Asam-Asam, and Batulicin. They are all located in southern Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Picture: Mining at Kresna Pit at Satui
I won't go into much detail, but the Satui project has an overall length of 40km with multiple pits over this distance (not all working simultaneously), so it's not small. It's being operating now for ten years and has quite a few years left in reserves. There are over 2000 people working here, most of whom live at the nearby town of Sungai Danau (5 minutes from site) or in Banjarmasin.
Coal is hauled to the port at the estuary of the Satui River where it is loaded via conveyors onto barges (20,000 tonnes/day) and towed to its destination (a ship, or other port). Over 120 million cubic metres of waste and ore is mined annually using a variety of large mining equipment.
Picture: Coal exposed in the pit floor. The trucks on the left are Cat785's
So, to get to site on a Monday morning after my four day break, I leave home at 4am, drive for an hour to get to the airport here in Jakarta (the return drive in the evening takes around one and a half to two hours depending on traffic), then I catch a Garuda flight to Banjarmasin and then a contract company driver picks me up at the airport and drives for three hours to get to the Satui mine site.
Picture: This is what it's all about, "Batu bara" (Coal)
Picture: Coal loading onto barge
One thing that is a little unusual for me here is there is a problem with the local population of monkeys. They have grown a bit too aggressive and can be heard running over the roof of the office.
Picture: A cheeky monkey looking through my office window
Picture: A safety sign
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