The CTG plant would have an associated pipeline to take the estimated capacity of between 1.3-8 billion cubic metres per annum from Ulanbaatar to China.

Nuurst is 120km south-east of Ulaanbaatar and contains a sub-bituminous thermal coal.

The project, which Tian Poh recently acquired from another ASX-listed entity, Modun Resources, has a JORC coal resource of 478.3 million tonnes.

The implementation of the project will be subject to a definitive agreement, and shareholder and other regulatory approvals where applicable.

CNPC’s China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau is one of the largest integrated design, engineering and construction company for pipeline and storage related facilities in the world, and has annual revenue of more than $6 billion.

Tian Poh listed on the ASX in November 2014 and has 11 coal projects in Mongolia spanning more than 125,000 hectares.

The most advanced was the Huabei Kuangye coking coal deposit, which has a 30-year mining licence adjacent to Gobi Coal and Energy’s Shinejinst coking coal mine, but work there has slowed in favour of Nuurst and its copper, gold and molybdenum.

Tian Poh was formed by Singaporean entrepreneur Poh Kay Ping, who is its CEO and second-largest shareholder with around 31% of the company, behind largest shareholder, chairman Tian Guangru, who holds 38.4%.

The company raised almost $2.4 million in its initial public offering, above the minimum of $2 million but short of the maximum of $6 million. It later raised $1.6 million in a private placement.