Aspire Mining has received an encouraging report confirming that a Mongolian Blend with between 25% to 50% Ovoot coal is a premium coking coal using Chinese coal classifications, and is similar to or even better than primary coking coals imported from Australia, the U.S., and Canada due to its medium ash, low sulphur and high G value. This comes as Chinese demand for primary coking coal is predicted to increase due to changes in steel making technologies and depletion of domestic coal reserves combined with continued steel production growth.
The report was commissioned to assess the marketability and indicative pricing of the Mongolian Blend in order to complete a Scoping Study to support the development of a regional coal blending facility at the Sainshand Industrial Park. Ovoot is Mongolia’s second largest coking coal deposit with a JORC Resource of 255 million tonnes. Initial production is estimated to commence in 2018, producing 5 million tonnes per annum of saleable coking coal and increasing in subsequent years to achieve full scale production of up to 10Mtpa from both the open pit and underground operations.
“The marketability of the Mongolian Blend is particularly exciting as it confirms the value in establishing a blending operation at the Sainshand Industrial Park to add value to a range of thermal and low caking coals produced in Mongolia at present but with limited economic market outlets,” managing director David Paull said. “Both our Ovoot Project and the potential Blending Facility will benefit from Mongolia’s improving infrastructure landscape with planned railway to be built in the north to service the Ovoot Project, along with the upgrades to the Trans-Mongolian railway and rail border crossings with China.”