Aspire Mining Ltd., listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), has secured a non-binding agreement with Sinosteel Equipment and Engineering for the early development of Ovoot Coking Coal Project in Mongolia. The agreement covers potential engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) and trade-based funding opportunities for the Ovoot project. The announcement was followed by a USD 33.5 million placement with major shareholder Mr. Tserenpuntsag Tsedevdamba, who now owns 51 percent of the company. He has provided commitments to Aspire of loan guarantees of up to USD 100 million to complete ODEP’s construction and development. Sinosteel MECC is a subsidiary of the CNY 5.7 billion market cap Sinosteel Jilin Carbon Co. Ltd. Aspire’s financial gain is further enabled by Sinosteel’s most recently announced non-binding agreement, which covers potential engineering, procurement, construction and trade-based funding opportunities for the Ovoot Early Development Project (OEDP). Sinosteel and Aspire are entering into further discussions regarding the construction of a coal handling and preparation plant anticipating a cost of USD 37 million. Aspire is completing a definitive feasibility study, which is expected to be finalized around May 2020. “Aspire recognizes the importance of having a strong partnership with companies like Sinosteel MECC that play such a major role in the Chinese steel industry, the main market for Ovoot’s high-quality coking coal product,” David Paull, Executive Chairman of Aspire said. “We look forward to working alongside Sinosteel as one of our key partners in bringing the Ovoot Early Development Project into production and delivering value for all shareholders,” he added.

Published Date:2019-12-10