The licence MV-020941 covers 860.91ha and has been granted by the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia.

According to the licence, the company has earned the right to carry out operations over the licensed area for a minimum period of 30 years. Regulatory approval is seen as a significant step in the development of the project.

Aspire Mining managing director David Paull said: “Securing a mining licence is an important milestone and reflects the Mongolian Government’s continued support for the company and the coal industry in general.

"This vindicates our original decision in June 2014 to look to add a new coking coal project, which is not rail dependent and the decision in July 2017 to exercise our option to move to a 90% interest. The company is now working very hard on commercialising this high-quality coking coal project as soon as possible.”

The company will issue ten million shares to Xanadu Mines in order to meet its commitment under the sale and purchase agreement signed in June 2014.

It is currently engaged in preparation for raw bulk coal test at the project in an effort to be able to deliver exports to the Tangshan market in China.

The test is said to be key for completing a feasibility study for the project, in addition to providing commercial scale samples.