Aspire Mining Ltd. on Oct. 9 flagged a delay in completing the definitive feasibility study for the Ovoot coking coal project in Mongolia amid delays in securing key permits.
The company does not expect the study to conclude until May 2020. The explorer said the permits include those for the Ovoot mine and the Ovoot-to-Erdenet road, which are crucial for completing hydrological and geotechnical drilling. As a result, the technical drilling program and associated work needed for the study's completion cannot be done before the end of 2019 ahead of the onset of winter.
Temperatures at the site are not expected to be suitable for drilling programs until March or April 2020.
Despite the delay, other components of the definitive feasibility study are progressing and will be completed in the interim.
In a pre-feasibility update at the end of February, Aspire said it was aiming to start road construction in the fourth quarter, commissioning in the first quarter of 2021 and first coal output in the following quarter.
The Erdenet-to-Ovoot road construction is expected to take about 15 months once all permits are in place.
In mid-September, the company received a conditional letter of intent from a major shareholder guaranteeing up to A$100 million in future financing for Ovoot.
