Adaro’s history begins with the global oil shocks of the 1970s. They caused the Indonesian Government to revise its energy policy, until then focused on oil and gas, to include coal as a fuel for domestic use. With this increased focus on coal, in 1976 the Mines Department divided East and South Kalimantan into eight coal blocks and invited tenders for these blocks. Spanish Government company Enadimsa bid for Block 8 in the Tanjung district of South Kalimantan, as coal was known to be present in the district from outcrops mapped by Dutch geologists in the 1930s and from intersections at depth in oil wells drilled by Pertamina in the 1960s. No other company bid for this block; at that time it was regarded as being too far inland and the coal of low quality.

The name ‘Adaro’ was chosen as the company name by Enadimsa to honor the famous Adaro family, which had been involved in Spanish mining for several centuries, and PT Adaro Indonesia came into existence. Adaro Indonesia’s Coal Cooperation Agreement (CCA) was signed on Nov. 2, 1982. Enadimsa conducted exploration work in the agreement area from 1983 to 1989, when a consortium of Australian and Indonesian companies purchased 80% of Adaro Indonesia from Enadimsa. During the first half of 1990 a feasibility study was carried to lay the groundwork for project development. Of key importance was selecting a transport route for coal haulage, and the decision was made to build an 80km coal haul road west to the Barito river, rather than a 130km road east to Adang Bay on the Kalimantan coast because it would be quicker and cheaper, especially as it would avoid traversing the Meratus mountains. It was also decided to start production from the Paringin deposit as it had a slightly higher heat value than the Tutupan deposit and also because it had overburden that contained a burnt mudstone, a harder rock suitable in road construction. This mine development was fast-tracked in order to get the coal to the market as quickly as possible to develop a customer base.