The geological setting of Indonesian coal deposits

By M C Friederich1, Member, R P Langford2 and T A Moore3

ABSTRACT
Over the last 15 years Indonesia has experienced a surge in coal
exploration, which has led to the development of a major export industry.
This coal exploration has improved the understanding of the geology of
the Indonesian coal deposits. The main economic coal deposits are of
Eocene and Miocene to Pliocene age, which mainly occur in Kalimantan
and Sumatra and were formed from peat deposits in an equatorial
paleoclimate similar to that prevailing today. Some of these peats were
domed peats, which grew above the normal water tables, under a climate
of year-round rainfall; these peats grew above the level at which
waterborne mineral matter can enter the system, resulting in low ash and
sulphur, and locally very thick coal. It is believed that such peats have
formed the unusually thick, low ash, and low sulphur Miocene coals of
Indonesia. Coal deposits of Eocene age are typically characterised by
thinner seams, with relatively higher contents of ash and sulphur. The
Miocene coals and Eocene coals both appear to have formed in
lacustrine, coastal plain or deltaic depositional environments, similar to
the modern peat-forming environments of eastern Sumatra and parts of
Kalimantan. The Eocene coals formed mainly in extensional tectonic
settings. Miocene - Pliocene coal deposits formed in a range of tectonic
settings.

INTRODUCTION
Recent coal exploration in Indonesia was initiated in the 1970s
by several groups. However the level of activity was boosted in
the early-1980s, after the entry of several foreign companies
under a new phase of foreign investment agreements for coal
exploration and mining. Exploration in the early-1980s, in
particular, was immensely successful, and resulted in the start-up
of several major coal mines and the creation of an important new
export industry. Coal production has risen from less than one
million tonnes in 1982, to over 59 million tonnes in 1998.
1.

PT Austindo Nusantara Energi, Graha Irama, 3rd Floor, Jalan HR

Rasuna Said Kav, 1-2, Jakarta, Indonesia.

2.

11 Toms Crescent, Ainslie ACT 2602.

3.

Coal Research Limited, PO Box 29-415, Christchurch, New

Zealand.

100

500km
100

Coal-bearing rift basins were initiated in Sumatra and

Kalimantan during the Early Tertiary (Paleogene). Much of the
margin of Sundaland, from western Sulawesi, through eastern
Kalimantan, the Java Sea, and Sumatra, was the site of Eocene
extension. Deposition probably began in the middle Eocene, as
these are the oldest known sediments. This early Tertiary rifting
on the margin of Sundaland was in a back-arc setting, which was
influenced by the subduction of the Indian Ocean plate (Cole and
Crittenden, 1997). The oldest known sediments with reliable
dates are of middle Eocene age, although it is possible that
deposition may have begun earlier than this (Hutchison, 1996).

140

Samarinda

. Balikpapan

SULAWESI

Banjamasin
JAKARTA

Structural setting

KALIMANTAN
Pontianak
Palembang

Padang

EOCENE COAL DEPOSITS

120

Medan
SUMATRA
0

Indonesia has grown quickly to become the worlds third largest

exporter of thermal coal, mainly used for electricity generation.
The state-owned company, PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam
(PTBA) operates coal mines at Ombilin (West Sumatra) and near
Tanjung Enim (South Sumatra). The main private sector coal
mines include those in Eastern Kalimantan of PT Kaltim Prima
Coal (50 per cent RTZ, 50 per cent BP), PT Arutmin Indonesia
(80 per cent BHP, 20 per cent Bakrie and Brothers), and PT
Adaro Indonesia. Future developments will supply coal for the
next generation of Indonesian coal-fired power plants, although
this has been slowed by the current economic situation.
Coal exploration, associated research, and on-going work by
the petroleum companies has led to an improved understanding
of the geological controls of the better known coal deposits of
Indonesia. These deposits are mainly in Kalimantan and Sumatra,
although reference, in this paper, will also be made to some
lesser-known deposits in Java and Sulawesi (Figure 1). The coal
deposits that are currently mined in Indonesia are restricted to
Eocene and Miocene age sequences. High relative sea levels
during the Oligocene resulted in deposition of mainly marine
sediments throughout Indonesia. Pliocene age coals and lignites
occur, but are of low rank due to the young age, and are not being
mined.

Ujang
Pandang

Jayapura
IRIAN
JAYA

JAVA
120

n - Coal-bearing sequences

140

FIG 1 - Distribution of coal-bearing sequences in Indonesia.

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23

M C FRIEDERICH, R P LANGFORD and T A MOORE

The sedimentary sequences in these Paleogene rifts are

described by Sudarmono, Suherman and Eza (1997), who have
shown the similarities in lithologies between these Paleogene
rifts, and relate the stratigraphic sequence to successive stages in
their evolution.
Coal measures of Eocene age are known from the following
basins: Pasir and Asam Asam (South and East Kalimantan
provinces); Barito (South Kalimantan); Upper Kutai (East and
Central Kalimantan); Melawi and Ketungau (West Kalimantan);
Tarakan (East Kalimantan); Ombilin (West Sumatra); Central
Sumatra Basin (Riau Province). Eocene coal measures, but with
generally thin seams, also occur in rift sequences in southwestern
Sulawesi and southwest Java.
Eocene coal is currently being mined in SE Kalimantan (PT
Arutmin Indonesia; PT Kendilo Coal) and in Sumatra at Ombilin,
West Sumatra Province. The quality and recent production levels
of the main Eocene producing mines are shown in Table 1.
The initial deposition of the early-rift phase in these Paleogene
rifts was freshwater, mainly fluviatile, alluvial fan and shallow
lacustrine deposits. In SE Kalimantan, these were probably
deposited in the Middle to Late Eocene, but they may have been
younger in Sumatra, from Late Eocene to Early Oligocene. In the
Central Sumatran rifts, the initial fluvial phase was overlain by
sediments deposited in freshwater lakes (Cole and Crittenden,
1997). In Southeast Kalimantan, however, the basal alluvial fan
and fluvial deposits were overlain by laterally continuous coal
seams formed in a coastal plain setting, which was then overlain
by sediments that have been interpreted as Late Eocene
transgressive marginal marine deposits (Friederich et al, 1995).

Coal mines

1 Kaltim Prima
Indominco Mandiri
Tanito Harum
Multi Harapan
Private Companies
Senakin

115

Petangis
Satui
Adaro
Private Companies
Kideco
Sebuku
Berau

Tarakan

Ketungau
Mandai
Melawi

Barito
us

Pasir

Me

rat

N
0

Kutai

250km

115

Asam Asam

FIG 2 - Tertiary basins and coal mines in Kalimantan.

Kalimantan basins

upper coal member. T3 is mainly fossiliferous marine marl,

mudstone with interbedded clayey sandstone, and minor thin
limestone towards the top. The T2 above the basal coal at least
partly formed in large shallow embayments, with access to
marine conditions, similar to the embayments now found on the
present day coast of SE Kalimantan. These were depocentres for
mainly fine grained clastics, and were transitional to the more
fully marine conditions of the T3 member.
Economically important coal is being mined at Satui and
Senakin (by PT Arutmin Indonesia) and Petangis (by PT Kendilo
Coal). It occurs near the base of the T2 member. The overlying
portion of the T2 member, above the basal coal, is a presumed
marine-paralic dominated unit, 70 to 100 metres thick,
comprising a regular alternation of claystone, thin sandstone
beds, and thin siderite beds. The basal coal unit is up to 9 m
thick, but is more typically 4 to 6 m. The seam is typically
laterally continuous, without sudden changes in seam thickness.
(Friederich et al, 1995). Some 20 km north of Petangis,
unambiguous field evidence is found for a marine transgression
where a marine fossiliferous sandstone unit directly overlies the
basal coal seam which contains very high sulphur contents.
Several kilometres further north, the fossiliferous sandstone is
replaced by a limestone.

The initial deposition is believed to be Middle Eocene. It is

interpreted as a syn-rift sequence and, as noted by Van de Weerd
and Armin (1992) and Moss et al (1997), is remarkably similar
throughout Kalimantan. The stratigraphic setting of the important
known coal occurrences is described in more detail below.

Pasir and Asam Asam Basins, Southeast Kalimantan

Eocene age coal deposits occur within the Pasir and Asam Asam
Basins of SE Kalimantan (Figure 2). Stratigraphic nomenclature
varies between the basins, although this paper refers to units
defined in the Asam Asam Basin. The basal Eocene sequence,
the Tanjung Formation, unconformably overlies the Mesozoic
basement. Milligan and Shatwell (1982) subdivided the Tanjung
Formation into three members, T1, T2 and T3. The formation
was deposited within a transgressive depositional system.
Deposition began with basal conglomerate and overlying
quartz-lithic sandstone, siltstone and claystone of the T1 member,
with a thickness from several metres to over 150 metres. The
thickness is quite variable, probably related to infilling of
grabens. The overlying T2 unit contains a thick basal coal
member, overlain by clastics, minor carbonate, and, locally, an

TABLE 1
Average coal quality, selected Eocene deposits.
Mine

Basin

Company

Total moisture
% (ar)

Inherent moisture
% (ad)

Satui

Ash %
(ad)

Volatiles %
(ad)

Sulphur %
(ad)

Heating value
(kcal/kg)(ad)
6800

Asam Asam

PT Arutmin

10.0

7.0

8.0

41.5

0.80

Senakin

Pasir

PT Arutmin

9.0

4.0

15.0

39.5

0.70

6400

Petangis

Pasir

BHP Kendilo

11.0

4.4

12.0

40.5

0.80

6700

Ombilin

Ombilin

PTBA

12.0

6.5

<8.0

36.5

0.5 - 0.6

6900

Parambahan

Ombilin

Allied Indo
Coal

4.0

10.0 (ar)

37.3 (ar)

0.50 (ar)

6900 (ar)

(ar) - as received; (ad) - air dried. From Indonesian Coal Mining Association, 1998.

24

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THE GEOLOGICAL SETTING OF INDONESIAN COAL DEPOSITS

Typically the lower part of the Eocene seam is low in sulphur,

while the upper part has higher levels. Pyritic sulphur accounts
for most of the variation. The sulphur is partly emplaced at the
time of formation and secondarily as a result of the roof rock
having a marine sulphate source. Ash content within the seam is
generally predictable and constant. Both ash and sulphur contents
vary vertically within the seam, but are predicable and persistent
laterally.
Palynological data from PT Arutmin Indonesia (unpublished)
have shown that the coal and immediately adjacent sediments
formed from a typical coastal equatorial flora. Stratigraphically,
it is within a transgressive sequence. The coal occurs at the
boundary between underlying terrestrial freshwater sediments
and overlying marine units. The peat swamps that formed the
coal appear to have resulted from a rise in water table in a coastal
plain setting (Figure 3), as a result of sea level transgression over
the coastal plain. The overlying sediments probably at least partly
formed in large sheltered shallow coastal bays, with access to
marine conditions, similar to the bays now found on the present
day coast of SE Kalimantan. These were depocentres for mainly
fine-grained clastics and were transitional to the more open
marine conditions of the T3 member.

The basal unit is the Eocene-age Haloq Sandstone. This unit

has a variable thickness, from 300 to 1500 metres, and is
dominantly quartzose pebbly sandstone, with minor
conglomerate and thin mudstone beds, overlying a basal
conglomerate. It is interpreted as alluvial fan deposits. The unit is
identical to the basal sandstones of the Barito Basin and the
Melawi Basin, and possibly formed contemporaneously.
The Haloq Sandstone is overlain by the Batu Kelau Formation,
a marine unit of generally fine grained clastics, of Late Eocene
age. The Batu Kelau Formation is in turn overlain conformably
by the transgressive Late Eocene Batu Ayau Formation, 500 to
1500 metres thick, comprising mainly sandstone, mudstone,
siltstone and coal seams. This unit is overlain by the marine,
Oligocene Ujoh Bilang Formation.
The stratigraphy of the Kutai Basin is broadly similar to that of
the other Paleogene coal-bearing basins, with coal deposition
occurring after an initial syn-rift phase, and occupying a
stratigraphic position that is transitional between fluvial
deposition and marine sediments deposited following a marine
transgression. There is one significant difference from the basins
of SE Kalimantan, which is the marine incursion that formed the
Batu Kelau Formation, within the basal Eocene.

Barito Basin, Southeast Kalimantan

Ketungau, Mandai and Melawi Basins, West Kalimantan

Eocene age coal in the Barito Basin was deposited within a

setting quite similar to that of the Pasir and Asam Asam Basins.
Coal for export is being produced by several small-scale mines,
from the east and northeast of Banjarmasin. The main target
seam is 2 m to 4 m thick, and is characterised by a generally
lower ash and sulphur content than the coals of the Pasir and
Asam Asam Basins. The coal deposits have been less well
documented than those of the Pasir and Asam Asam Basins.
However, the sedimentary sequence is known to be quite similar
and it is likely that the main coal seam was deposited
contemporaneously.

Paleogene fluvial and lacustrine sediments were deposited in

these elongate east-west trending basins (refer to Figure 2), and
the lithologies have been described by Heryanto (1991), and
Pieters, Trail and Supriatna (1987). A basal Eocene sandstone
sequence can actually be traced from Sintang (West Kalimantan),
over a distance of 400 km, to the Upper Mahakam River in the
Kutai Basin.
The stratigraphy of the Melawi Basin is similar to that of the
Upper Kutai Basin, with a basal sandstone unit (the Pinoh
Sandstone, equivalent to the Haloq Sandstone) overlain by the
marine Ingar Formation. Overlying this is the Dangkan
Sandstone, a possible equivalent to the Batu Ayau Formation of
the Upper Kutai Basin (Pieters, Trail and Supriatna, 1987). This
is overlain by the lacustrine Silat Shale. Very thin coal has also
been reported from the Silat Shale, a lacustrine unit overlying the
Dangkan Sandstone (Pieters, Trail and Supriatna, 1987). There is
no report of coal in the basal Eocene sandstones of the Melawi
Basin, although carbonaceous material has been reported.
Volcanics of Eocene age have been mapped within the basin,
which suggest a rift environment.

Kutai Basin, East Kalimantan

Deposition began in the Eocene within a series of grabens or
half-grabens. Terrestrial and marine Eocene sediments outcrop in
the western part of the basin (sometimes referred to as the Upper
Kutai Basin), as described by Wain and Berod (1989) and Moss
et al (1997). Eocene-age deposits in eastern part of the basin are
generally dominated by fine-grained, deep marine sequences.

FIG 3 - Depositional model for Eocene coal beds in southeastern Kalimantan.

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M C FRIEDERICH, R P LANGFORD and T A MOORE

However, coal does occur within the Oligocene-age Sekayam

Sandstone, at Bukit Alat, in the Melawi Basin. This coal is up to
four metres thick, and extends for a strike length of about five
kilometres; it appears to be an isolated occurrence.
In the Ketungau and Mandai basins to the north, the basal unit
is the Kantu Formation overlain by the sandstone-dominated
Tutoop Formation, a probable correlative of the Batu Ayau
Formation. Clastics and thin coal seams of the Ketungau
Formation overlie the Tutoop Formation. Coal has been reported
from the Kantu Formation, but this coal is not being mined
within Indonesia. Across the border in Sarawak, Malaysia, this
same formation is referred to as the Silantek Formation, and coal,
upgraded by widespread Oligo-Miocene intrusives, has been
mined in the past by underground methods at Silantek
(Hutchison, 1996).
Sumatran basins
The work of Koesoemadinata (1978) is important in describing in
detail the rift basin setting of some well-known Sumatran
Paleogene coal deposits.

Ombilin Basin, West Sumatra

This is a small basin (20 60 km), located to the east of the
Sumatra Fault, (Figure 4), and it contains a thick sequence of
Eocene to Miocene marine and terrestrial sediments. The
well-known Ombilin coalfield is located in this basin. The
stratigraphy has been described by Koesoemadinata and Matasak
(1981). The origin of the Ombilin Basin is discussed by Howells
(1997), who has pointed out the similarity of the stratigraphy to
that of the North, Central and South Sumatra Basins, and
suggests a common genetic origin with the other Lower Tertiary
back-arc grabens.
105

Coal mines

Tanjung Enim
Ombilin
Parambahan
Private Companies

North Sumatra
Aceh

Central Sumatra

West Sumatra

South Sumatra

250km

Bengkulu
105

Central Sumatra Basin

Tertiary deposition began with the Pematang Formation of
presumed Eocene to Oligocene age. This formation was initially
deposited within grabens, and includes coarse conglomerate and
sandstone interbedded with red clay or mudstone (Clarke et al,
1982). Notably, coal seams also occur within this unit but they
are not being mined at present although there has been
exploration and small-scale mining at several localities, as
described by Hardjono and Atkinson (1990). The Pematang
Formation is probably equivalent to the Brani and Sangkarewang
Formations of the Ombilin Basin.
MIOCENE COAL
Structural setting
The Early-Mid Tertiary regional rift phase along the Sundaland
margin had ended by the Early Miocene. Marine transgression
and deposition affected a much larger area during the
Oligocene-Early Miocene period, depositing thick marine
clastics and interbedded limestone sequences. Uplift and
compression is a common feature of Neogene tectonics in both
Kalimantan and Sumatra.
The more economically important Miocene coal deposits are in
the Lower Kutai Basin of Kalimantan; the Barito Basin of South
Kalimantan; and the South Sumatra Basin. Miocene-age coal is
also being mined in the Bengkulu Basin (Bengkulu Province, SW
Sumatra) and in the Tarakan Basin (Berau Coal). Details of some
of the mines producing from Miocene coal are given in Table 2.
The Miocene coals were deposited in fluvial, deltaic and
coastal plain environments, probably similar to the modern
peat-forming environments of Sumatra described by Esterle and
Ferm (1994). Many of the Miocene coals are characterised by
extremely low values of ash and sulphur, such as the coal mined
by PT Adaro Indonesia and PT Kideco Jaya Agung (Table 2).
Rank of the Miocene coal is generally low, and most of the
Miocene coal resources of Indonesia are sub-bituminous or
lignite rank, which remain uneconomic unless exceptionally
thick and/or well located. However the economically important
Miocene coal deposits include those that are of higher rank,
including the Prima and Pinang coal deposits of PT Kaltim Prima
(Table 2); the coal deposits of the Lower Mahakam River; and
some of the deposits near Tanjung Enim, in the South Sumatra
Basin.
South Sumatra Basin

FIG 4 - Tertiary basins and coal mines in Sumatra.

The economic coal occurs within the Eocene Sawahlunto

Formation. Near the base of the Tertiary is the Brani Formation, a
basal conglomerate, that is locally interbedded with the black
shales of the Sangkarewang Formation. The latter comprises
lacustrine sediments, including dark shale, calcareous shale and
siltstone. The Brani Formation and Sangkarewang Formation
were deposited contemporaneously. The Brani Formation formed
from alluvial fans relating to fault escarpments, while the
Sangkarewang Formation was formed from lacustrine deposits in
deeper parts of the basin.

26

The Sawahlunto Formation varies up to 250 m thick. It

comprises grey mudstone and siltstone with coal seams and
minor quartz sandstone. Three main coal seams, with low ash
content, occur within the succession and have variable thickness,
locally up to eight metres. Massive quartz sandstone units of the
Sawahtambang Formation, which are several hundred metres
thick in the coal-bearing part of the basin, overlie the Sawahlunto
Formation and form steep topography. The sandstone sequences
are thickest in the centre of the basin, and range from Eocene to
Oligocene in age, and are in turn overlain by Lower Miocene
marine sediments.

The South Sumatra Basin has been referred to as a foreland

basin, associated with formation of the Barisan Mountains.
Regional subsidence of the eastern Sumatran basins occurred
during the Oligocene-Early Miocene, resulting in widespread
marine deposition. The main coal-bearing unit is referred to as
the Muara Enim Formation. This unit represents part of a major
regressive Late Miocene-Pliocene sequence, which was
deposited as the Barisan Mountains were uplifted.
Coal exploration over a large area of the South Sumatra Basin
in the mid-1970s was described by Shell Mijnbouw (1978). Coal
occurs in several thick seams, with large resources identified in
seams over five metres thickness. Shell noted the lateral
continuity of the coal-bearing horizons over large parts of the

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THE GEOLOGICAL SETTING OF INDONESIAN COAL DEPOSITS

TABLE 2
Average coal quality, selected Miocene deposits.
Mine

Basin

Company

Prima

Kutai

Pinang

Kutai

Roto South
Binungan
Lati

Total
moisture

Inherent
moisture

Ash %

Volatiles %

Sulphur %

Heating value
(kcal/kg)

Kaltim Prima

9.0

4.0

39.0

0.50

6800 (ar)

Kaltim Prima

13.0

7.0

37.5

0.40

6200 (ar)

Pasir

PT Kideco

24.0

3.0

40.0

0.20

5200 (ar)

Tarakan

PT Berau Coal

18.0

14.0

4.2

40.1

0.50

6100 (ad)
5800 (ad)

Tarakan

PT Berau Coal

24.6

16.0

4.3

37.8

0.90

Air Laya

S Sumatra

PTBA

24.0

5.3

34.6

0.49

5300 (ar)

Paringin

Barito

PT Adaro

24.0

18.0

4.0

40.0

0.10

5950 (ad)

(ar) - as received; (ad) - air dried. From Indonesian Coal Mining Association, 1998.

South Sumatra Basin. Most of the known resources were found

to be low rank, with total moisture contents from 30 per cent to
65 per cent. The exception is in the area near Tanjung Enim,
where there has been upgrading of the rank, due to nearby
Plio-Pleistocene andesite intrusions. Rank locally reaches
anthracite grade near the intrusions.
As a result of this better rank and quality, coal is being mined
on a large-scale near Tanjung Enim by PT Tambang Batubara
Bukit Asam, (PTBA), a state-owned company. Production is
mostly sold to the Suralaya power plant in West Java. Most of the
production is coal of sub-bituminous rank, although some is of
higher rank. In 1998, PTBA produced 9.0 million tonnes from
the Tanjung Enim area.
A basin-wide trend in coal rank has been noted in the eastern
Sumatran basins; higher rank deposits generally occur near the
Barisan Mountains. Most individual coal seams range between
two - ten metres thick, although some seams are over 20 metres
thick. Tuffaceous material, from the adjacent volcanic arc, is a
relatively common feature of the interseam sediments.
Kalimantan Miocene deposits

Kutai Basin
Widespread uplift of the western part of the basin during the
early Neogene resulted in the formation of a thick sequence of
prograding fluvial-deltaic sediments in the eastern part of the
basin. This succession migrated from the west to east and by the
end of the Early Miocene, the delta front had advanced
approximately 200 km eastward to the present-day coastline. The
location of the present-day Mahakam River is probably the same
as that during the late Tertiary (Moss et al, 1997).
The Neogene sediments have been folded into anticlines and
synclines, trending NNE-SSW. The anticlines are narrow with
associated steep dips; the synclines are broad. There are abrupt
changes in dip across the axis of the anticlines, with no shallow
dips at the axis. Individual anticline axes can be traced as linear
features for some 100 kilometres. Chambers and Daley (1995)
present a tectonic model for the central part of the onshore Kutai
Basin, based on new data acquired during petroleum exploration.
They proposed that the folding resulted from basin inversion, and
infer as much as 3 km uplift of the anticlines, and that the
greatest uplift has been over the areas that were previously the
site of rifts. It is probable that this could explain some of the
lateral variation in coal rank observed within the Kutai Basin,
particularly the fact that coal rank within the same horizon
increases over the anticlinal axes. Some anticlines within the
basin may be areas that were initially more deeply buried, with a
consequent increase in the coal rank.
The Lower Miocene succession is referred to as the Pulau
Balang Formation, the Middle-Late Miocene succession is called
the Balikpapan Formation (or Group) and the Late Miocene to

The AusIMM Proceedings

Pliocene succession, the Kampung Baru Formation. Coal occurs

throughout the Miocene sequences, although the highest coal
percentage is developed within Middle Miocene and upper part
of the early Miocene sequences.
There is also a consistent increase in seam thickness upwards
in the sequence. The coal seams of the Pulau Balang Formation
are thin (typically 2 m) but high rank, especially in the central
part of the Kutai Basin. Coal seams of the lower part of the
Balikpapan Formation are thicker, typically three to five metres,
and the rank is intermediate. The thickest seams are generally the
low rank seams of the upper part of the Balikpapan Formation,
which locally reach up to 20 metres thickness in the central part
of the Kutai Basin, but the coal is of such low rank that it is not
currently being mined.
In the central part of the Kutai Basin, the seams being mined
now are mainly in the lower part of the Balikpapan Formation,
with the combination of a mineable thickness and better rank. As
these generally occur at mineable depths on the anticline flanks,
where dips are steeper, surface mineable resources tend to be
limited.
The coal mines along the Mahakam River are mostly mining
seams within the lower part of the Balikpapan Formation, in
locations near the river, where trucking costs to river barge ports
are low. These mines then have the combination of thicker seams,
better quality and low trucking costs.
In the northern part of the Kutai Basin, PT Kaltim Prima Coal
is mining coal of Miocene age at Pinang, which has an unusual
combination of thick seams (several seams are up to 7 m thick),
favourable structure for large-scale mining, and good export
quality (Van Leeuwen and Muggeridge, 1987; Van Leeuwen,
1994). This deposit is also close to the coast, so transport costs
are low.

Barito Basin
Thick Miocene seams in the Barito Basin occur in the regressive
Warukin Formation. Miocene age coal in thick seams, some over
30 metres thick, occurs in this formation. PT Adaro Indonesia is
mining and exporting a sub-bituminous product characterised by
one per cent ash and ultra low sulphur content of 0.1 per cent.
There has not yet been significant commercial development of
other Miocene coal deposits of the Barito Basin.

Asam Asam Basin

As in the Barito Basin, Miocene coal occurs in thick seams in the
Warukin Formation. The rank is lignite, with total moisture levels
at 30 to 40 per cent (as received basis). Exploration by PT
Arutmin Indonesia of two deposits, Sarongga and Asam Asam,
was described by Friederich et al, (1995). The lignite seams are
locally very thick, over 35 metres, but there are abrupt lateral
changes in thickness, and the same seams can be very thin
outside these deposits. Ash is low at three per cent, and sulphur is

No 2 1999

27

M C FRIEDERICH, R P LANGFORD and T A MOORE

very low, less than 0.2 per cent. The palynology of lignite from
the Sarongga deposit is described by Demchuk and Moore
(1993). It is typical of a mixed bog/mangrove environment, and
probably formed under conditions similar to those of modern
peat swamps of Kalimantan.
Figure 5 depicts a depositional model for the Miocene lignites
of the Asam Asam Basin that may also be applicable to the other
low ash, low sulphur, thick Miocene coals of Kalimantan. These
lignites exhibit features consistent with an origin the same as the
modern ombrogenous, domed peats of the Indo-Malaysian region
in their chemistry (Esterle and Ferm, 1994; Neuzil et al, 1993),
depositional setting (Staub and Esterle, 1993), flora (Demchuk
and Moore, 1993) and organic constituents (Moore and Hilbert,
1990). In these modern domed bogs, the peat surface is
topographically higher by some three to 15 metres than the
nearby streams. This setting prevents flooding of the peat swamp,
consequently waterborne clastics cannot enter and the ash
content of the peat is very low. The modern domed bogs also
have very low sulphur content. The extreme lateral discontinuity
of some of the thick Miocene lignite seams may result from not
only the domed topography, but also syndepositional faulting
during paleomire formation.
CONCLUSIONS
Coal exploration in Indonesia has now established some
interesting trends of coal quality and thickness, with significant
differences apparent between Eocene and Miocene-Pliocene
coals. A fundamental difference between the Eocene and the
Miocene-Pliocene coal deposits is in the lateral continuity of the
seams. In general, the Eocene coal is more continuous but thinner
than coal formed in the Miocene-Pliocene.
The Eocene coals, which formed in an extensional structural
setting under a transgressive depositional environment, are
characterised by higher levels of ash and sulphur, and by
generally thin or intermediate seam thicknesses, typically four to
six metres in the economic deposits. The rank of the Eocene
coals is generally higher than those of Miocene age, so the
heating value is normally higher, with a lower moisture content.
Several Eocene deposits have a combination of suitable thickness
for surface mining, favourable structure and marketable quality,
and coal produced from these deposits has found ready
acceptance as an export thermal coal.

The Miocene-Pliocene coals generally formed in a variety of

structural settings, including the foreland basin setting of
southern Sumatra, and in a regressive depositional environment.
Thickness can be highly variable and extremely thick seams, over
30 metres thick, have been identified. Generally the ash and
sulphur contents are low. In some cases there is the combination
of very thick seams with very low ash and sulphur. This appears
to be related to both the depositional environment and the
paleoclimate, which was the same as the modern climate, ie
equatorial with high year-round rainfall, allowing the formation
of ombrogenous or domed peats. These peats rose above the
water table, to a level where flooding does not occur, isolating
the peats from what was, in the Eocene coals, a major contributor
of the ash content.
Many Miocene-Pliocene coal deposits are of mineable
thickness, contain low levels of ash and sulphur, and are
structurally uncomplicated. However, the rank is variable, and
low rank of coals can be a barrier to market acceptance and price,
as the low rank coals have a high moisture content and thus
reduced heating value. In several deposits or areas, coal rank has
been upgraded either thermally (parts of the Sumatran basins) or
by inversion of what were previously deeply buried deposits
(parts of the Kutai Basin). Upgraded coals exhibit a combination
of acceptable or low levels of moisture and a higher heating
value, combined with the other favourable aspects of thick seams,
low ash and low sulphur. The best of these coals are being mined
and exported, while some of the lower rank coals are being used
domestically for electricity generation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to thank Lim Meng Sze Wu, the late Ted Milligan,
Hermes Panggabean and Chairul Nas for their useful discussions
on Indonesian coal deposits. We also thank Bob Clark (Clark
Cartographics) for drafting some of the figures.
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FIG 5 - Depositional model for Miocene coal beds in southeastern Kalimantan.

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