Aspire Mining Limited is an ASX listed (ASX: AKM,  Aspire or the Company) exploration and development company focused on discovering and developing world class premium coking (metallurgical) coal deposits in Mongolia, maximising shareholder returns over the long term, and contributing to the social and economic enrichment of local communities.

Aspire’s primary focus is on Mongolia, a resource rich country with a rapidly developing coal mining industry emerging as a key future supply source given Mongolia’s close geographical position to some of the largest coking coal consumers worldwide – China, Russia, Japan, and Korea.

The Company is a large coal tenement holder in the Orkhon-Selenge Coal Basin in northern Mongolia. Aspire owns a 100% interest in the large scale, world class Ovoot Coking Coal Project (Ovoot), the second largest coking coal project by reserves in Mongolia, a 90% interest in the Nuurstei Coking Coal Project (Nuurstei)  and a 100% interest in the Myangan Coal Project.

Aspire’s flagship Ovoot project is host to 255 Mt JORC Coal Reserves and can sustain full scale production of up to 10 Mtpa of saleable coking coal over a 21 year life of mine. Ovoot is ready to head into a definitive feasibility study having completed two pre-feasibility studies, received a mining licence, and approval by the Mineral Resource Authority of Mongolia for its Mongolian Feasibility Study. Ovoot’s further development is dependent on the construction of the Erdenet – Ovoot railway to link Ovoot with Mongolia’s existing rail system.

The Company has recently purchased a 90% interest in the Nuurstei Coking Coal Project. Nuurstei has JORC Coal Resources of 4.7 Mt of Indicated and 8.1 Mt of inferred. The Company is currently looking at completing a Feasibility Study in 2018 based on a shallow open pit mine supplying a 1 Mtpa wash plant to provide washed hard coking coal to China and seaborne markets.

The Erdenet – Ovoot railway represents one section of a new rail corridor called the Northern Rail Corridor that links China to Russia through Mongolia. This is part of Mongolia’s national rail policy, China’s One Belt One Road Policy and Russia’s Eurasian Economic Development Policy. Northern Railways LLC (Northern Railways), is a Mongolian infrastructure company, owned 80% by Aspire and backed by a consortium including and subsidiaries of Fortune 500 listed China Gezhouba Group Corporation and China Railways Corporation  and  is currently progressing the development of the Erdenet – Ovoot section under a concession granted by the Government of Mongolia. China Gezhouba Group has undertaken to provide a bankable feasibility study for the Erdenet – Ovoot Railway by 31 March 2018.