“This is a tragedy for the company, the government and the community. The loss to the Indonesian government in royalty and corporate tax alone amounts to Rp92 billion [US$11.08 million],” KPC’s president Grant Thorpe said in a statement.

Kaltim has been unable to ship coal since August 7, when stocks at its port ran out after workers blockaded its East Kalimantan mine.

The miner was forced to declare force majeure on July 5 after a blockade was imposed by workers demanding higher wages and improved working conditions. The force majeure was lifted on July 10 after the strikers lifted their blockade and started negotiations.

However, resumption of the blockade on August 7 caused Kaltim to declare force majeure for the second time.

“Shareholders from our London and our Indonesian commissioners meet early next week. If the operation is still closed at the time, we expect they will be forced to make hard decisions,” Thorne said.

Kaltim Prima produces 15 million tones annually from the mine.