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Thiess decided to suspend its contract mining operations at Senakin and Satui on April 26 to pursue Arutmin, which is 70%-owned by PT Bumi Resources and 30%-owned by Tata Steel, for payment of net project receivables or underclaims, to which Leighton has a contractual entitlement.

Leighton said the dispute was not expected to have any material impact on the group’s results, with resolutions on a number of claims expected during the remainder of the year.

The company said work at the Senakin and Satui mines should return to production following a satisfactory resolution of matters between the parties.

Meanwhile, mining work continues uninterrupted at the Kaltim Prima coal project (65% Bumi, 30% Tata and 5% other parties) where Thiess is undertaking contract mining work.

Leighton’s contract mining coal business in Indonesia contributed about 5.5% of total group revenue in 2012, with the Senakin and Satui mines contributing only about 1.5% of that.

At its annual general meeting last week, Leighton Holdings confirmed that, notwithstanding current market conditions, it remained on track to deliver a full-year underlying net profit after tax within the previous guidance range of $520-600 million and a gearing level within the target band of 25-35% by year-end.