Balingian Coal Mine

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Balingian Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Jalan Bukut, Mukah Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Balingian Coal Mine Jalan Bukut, Mukah Division, Sarawak, Malaysia[1][2] 2.74311013212374, 112.476573731504 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating[3] – 2018 –

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.
Capacity (Mtpa) Production (Mtpa) Year of Production Mine Type Mining Method Mine Size (km2) Mine Depth (m) Workforce Size
1.6[3] – – Surface[4] Open Pit[4] 410[3] 50* 296.2411596*

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt) Year of Total Reserves Recorded Total Resources (Mt) Coalfield Coal Type Coal Grade Primary Consumer/ Destination
– – – Sarawak[5] Subbituminous[4] Thermal[4] Coal Plant

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Note: To access more comprehensive data on energy ownership, please visit the Global Energy Ownership Tracker.
Owner Parent Company Headquarters
Balingian Energy Minerals Sdn Bhd [100.0%][3] Sarawak Energy Malaysia

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
ROM – – 3.06[6] 2.68[7] 2.94[7] 3.09[8] – – –

Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker August 2026 release.

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Background

Balingian Coal Mine is a mine in Balingian, Sarawak, Malaysia.[9] Balingian Energy Minerals (BEM) operates the mine, which is owned by Sarawak Energy. The mine supplies the Sarawak Energy power plant, Balingian New power station, which is on the same company site. [9]

In September 2024, environmental watchdog RimbaWatch raised concerns over the mine's climate impact, stating that its operators planned to extract 1.6 million tonnes of coal annually for 25 years, resulting in an estimated 10.5 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per year and 190 million tonnes of total carbon lock-in. The group called on Sarawak Energy Bhd, the state government, and federal regulators to disclose whether the mine's continued development is consistent with Malaysia's 2050 net-zero target, and to publish the project's environmental impact assessment in full. RimbaWatch stated that the mine, located in a peat swamp forest area of approximately 41,000 hectares, held an estimated 1.5 billion tonnes of coal resources, and that its analysis found deforestation of the mine area would release approximately 144,857 tonnes of carbon.[10]

  • Operator: Balingian Energy Minerals (BEM)[9]
  • Owner: Sarawak Energy [9]
  • Location: Balingian, Sarawak, Malaysia[11]
  • Coordinates: 2.7408969, 112.4729203 (Exact)
  • Status: Operating
  • Production: 1.6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) [9]
  • Total Reserves:
  • Mineable Reserves:
  • Coal Type: (Thermal)
  • Mine Type:
  • Start Year:
  • Source of Financing:

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. ↑ (PDF) http://dspace.unimap.edu.my/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/50876/Coal%20mining%20in%20Sarawak-%20an%20overview.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#:~:text=Currently%2C%206%20mineral%20tenement%20holders. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/09/20/group-calls-for-transparency-over-plans-for-balingian-coal-mine/;mining%20engineering%20and%20geologic%20aspects. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20260630062752/https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/09/20/group-calls-for-transparency-over-plans-for-balingian-coal-mine. Archived from the original on 30 June 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166516212000651. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ (PDF) http://dspace.unimap.edu.my/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/50876/Coal%20mining%20in%20Sarawak-%20an%20overview.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#:~:text=Currently%2C%206%20mineral%20tenement%20holders;mining%20engineering%20and%20geologic%20aspects. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ (PDF) https://www.sarawakenergy.com/assets/pdf/SEASR-2019.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 (PDF) https://www.sarawakenergy.com/assets/pdf/ASR21-Interactive.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ (PDF) https://www.sarawakenergy.com/assets/pdf/SarawakEnergy-ARSR2022.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Sarawak Energy, "Tender Summary", Accessed April 2021
  10. ↑ "Group calls for transparency over plans for Balingian coal mine". Free Malaysia Today. 2024-09-20. Retrieved 2026-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ Sarawak Energy, "Upstream Energy Resources", Sarawak website, Accessed April 2021