Coal burns bright for top exporter Indonesia as demand gets hot

Jakarta

INDONESIA will exceed its coal production target for another year as miners cash in after prices recovered from a five-year collapse.

The world's biggest exporter will produce about 489 million tonnes this year, 18 per cent above the government-mandated target, according to energy ministry forecasts. That's up from last year's output estimated at 434 million tonnes and would be at least the third year in a row the nation has produced more than it planned.

South-east Asia's largest economy has been trying to cap its coal output in an attempt to preserve resources for future generations of Indonesians. But that is proving a challenge as resurgent prices tempt producers to maximise output from new and existing mines…