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Indonesian Jvlining-Cenetel1gg-Sl4 ilbfujp!,l,lqlyyher

7-8. 2001, Jukarta.

INDONESIANCOKINGCOAL.A NEW BEGINNING

ian Wolff PT.Marunda Graha

ABSTRACT MostIndonesian exportcoalis for thesteaming market, whileothercountries dominate thecokingcoalrnarkets of Asia.P'l'.Marunda Grahamineral is prepaling to enterthe cokingcoalmarlcet. Simple techniques and developed applied duringthe exploration stage may alertothercoalcompanies to potential opportunities in this market. The challenge is to look for thistypeofcoal.

I.INTRODUCT'ION Indonesran has a long history of supplying steaming coal to the donrestic and international nrarkets. More recently there have been rnoves towards supplying sonle aspects of the steel industry, particularly through thc adverrt of Pulveriz"ed Coal lnjection (PCI) technology. Almost all lndonesian coal has little to no coking characteristics, cxch,rding it from the coke manufacturemarkets.PT. Marunda (-irahaminerals has recently undertakerr a coal exploration program, where in a significant aspcct of the sampling and testing progranl enabled it to successfullydetermine the coking characteristics of the coal. 2. SAMPLING In nrost Indonesian exploration prograntsj cfrannel sampling of the outcrops locuses on searn re1:resentation. Floweverwhen exploring foi coking coal, the aspectof oxidation is a significanl factor. Essentialll'all outcrop coal is likely to be slightly oxidized, ancl as such, wili have significantly ledur;cd coking ciraracteristics.Thus submitting channel samples of outcrop coal wiil tend tcr sfroirgly untler value the coking properties. To identily if the coal has coking properfies,it is rnore rmportantthat the sampleshould be freshand of the bcs{.:t,al, r'atl}er than be represcrrtative. Florir the M(iM expelience it is recommended to explore outcropsfor coking propertiesby selecting a glab sample from the freshestand lcast ash porlion o1'thc orrtcrop. Usually this may be found in a par.t of the outcrop that would be under water during the dry season,and to dig into the coal until thc cleat has least staining and the coal is "strong". Such a grab sample is left in large lumps and immecliately double bagged with exccss liesh water in the bag, and minimal air. In the caseof drill core, the emphases is once again to retain tlie freshnessof the core. From the MGM experienceit is recommendedthat on exposing the core iiom rhe drill split, wash with clean water and inunediatelyvyrapiu plastic with some addedwater. {-Jpc,rn sampling the coal place in double plastic bags with excessclean water, and minimal air. Always str;r'sit, a shady place. If the core is fronr shalk_'w lioles, (less thau 6 rneters),then slightly oxidized sectiousof ccre rnay Lresampledas separate plys.

Recordingthe date of drilling and sampling will allow latter closs checksof suitabilityof sampling method against ttre possible affects of oxidation. Note that in some coking coals, th:rt sonre parameters can be dramaticallyreducedin.just a fcw days exposureto the air. It is irn*portant to notify the laboratorv of the coking (rr) purposci of the testing plogrl1ln,as al'rangcrnents t'eceivingand treatingthe samplesmay be modiflcd. Tliis may include the needto draiu thc excesswater, wet clush the samples,to prfioritizcthe cohing tests, and to storeresiduesin the fi'eezer. In the r:aseof exploriLrgfor coking coal, the key analysisinclude Crucible Swell Number (CSN) rrr FreeSv;ell Index (FSI), plus sonreCieslel Fluidity and a few petrology tcsts, along 'with the starrdrrd analysis of Proriurate, Sulpiruranrl Calolific ValLre. f'o date only one laboratory in lndonesia has :r calibrated insh'urnent fo test Giesler Fluidity. Altlrough the r-SN is a relatively sirrrple test, calibration is irnportant,as a slightly cooltrr flanrc can lead to lorver CSN values. The laboratoly sh<luldrecord the datc of santple prepiration ancl date of each coking property. Courparrng cokirrg propertiesto the proximatc analysisrnay lte neecleri to fully interpretthe resirlts. 3.1 Moisture hi thermal coal the geologistln:ry go to sornee{'fort to prcserrr'e the Total Moisrure. tlou'ever for-coking 'fotal coal the Moisture is generalil, less than 9 7o, and laboratoryanalysisfocus on Inherent Nloisture. Latter determinationof Free moisture will tend to relate largely to crusliccl coal size and stockpilc conditions. Thus the aspectof adding water to the coal sampleis not too detrinrental to the testing. 3.2 CSN If CSN is below 2 yz - 3, then the coal may be oxidized,or is likely not to be suitablefor coking coai. If the CSN is 3 - 4 or more, then fulther' analysis of the coals coking potential rnay be justifie,.l. CSN is a relatively cheapancleasy test, ancican tre undertaken frequentll' to identify variatitrns in seamsor locations.

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Indonesianlv[inins Conference and Exhibition. Novenber 7-8. 2001. Jaknrta.

3.3 Giesler Fluidity If maximum fluidity values are more than 0 ddm, (dial divisions per minute) then the coal is considered as having some fluidity. However values of more than 200 ddm are required for some marketing considerations, while valuesof more than 1000 ddm may have a premium in marketing. Ciesler Fluidity tends to be a more expensiveand sensitive test, and can be undertaken to look for potential additional premium marketingvalue. 3.4 Petrology Mean maximum reflectance of more than 0.7 are preferred for the coking blend market,while values of more than 1.0 are desirable. Some analysis review the statistics of 100 point measurements. Maceral counts are more useful when the detailed componentsare provided. Petrology is a slow and expensive test, though it tends to be somewhat indicative of the coal, thus fewer tests are generally sufficient to categorize the coal. 4. RESEARCH 4.1 Validation of fluidity tests Fluidity can be highly susceptible to oxidation, and testing for fluidity is recommended to be undertaken within 24 hours of drilling. MGM drill sitesare very remote, and analysiswas often taken l0 days or so after drilling. The data was reviewed to check the validity of the fluidity program. A plot was rnade showing the Maximum Fluidity (MF) (log l0) againsttime ( number of days ) betweendrilling and the sample being prepared in the Indonesian Iaboratory.Note that after preparation the laboratory freezesthe sample - essentiallystopping oxidation and fl uidity deterioration. The plot of the samples shows a "flat" relationship, indicating no obvious deterioration with time. It was concludedthat:. Field procedures of coal samplingare generally effective in keeping the coal santplefresh for fluidity testing. That laboratory fluidity results can be used to rcflect "fresh" coal.

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No significant batchvariationswere indicated. The very low coefficient probably reflects the known low repeatability and high laboratory variance normally associated with fluidity testlng.

4.2 Coking properties deterioration To determinethe likely deteriorationof fluidity and CSN over time, a 5 ton samplewas wet crushed to nominal 50 mm top size and placed in drums to simulate stock pile conditions. Three types of drums representing loose stockpile, compacted stockpile and a control set of drums with loose coal submersed in water were testedover 150 days. A typical hyperbola curve of deterioration was found for the fluidity, with negligible difference bctween loose and compacted stockpile densities. Also accordingto expectations, the coal under water deteriorated rnarkedly slower. However CSN showedno deteriorationover 150 days. These tests indicate MGM coal has relatively good "shelf life", which is seenas a marketing advantage. 5. WHERE TO LOOK Coals exhibiting coking propertiesalso tend to have relatively low moisture content, reflecting a higher diagenisis. This may be due to :r . o Deeperburial ( as reflectedby folding ) Confining pressure Proximity to intrusives.

In eachcaseolder sediments are more likely to have been subject to such influences. Within a coal sequence,the lower seams may tend to exhibit increased coking properties. 6. WHY LOOK Export coking coal priceshavehistorically bcen 3 to 6 US dollars per ton higher than steamingcoal. This price diffdrential is a good commercial incentive to include someaspcctof the specialized sampling and testing suggested here in to look for coking propertiesin Indonesiancoal deposits.

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