Since the September discovery, Aspire has extended the new resource by a further 1 km and will continue exploration drilling on the area to investigate the possible connection with the known resource at Ovoot.

Aspire has also upgraded its drill rigs at the tenement from four to five with the view of continuing drilling into winter.

Aspire said coal intersections were thickening towards the southeast of the tenement after recording 16.5 metres of coal seams from 389m.

Aspire managing director David Paull said the new resource provided an opportunity to quickly add resource tonnes to the Ovoot project.

“The potential to join the existing Ovoot coal resource area with this new area 4 kilometres along strike remains open while the new coal area is growing to the south, west and east,” he said.

Aspire is considering splitting the development of Ovoot into two stages, with the first stage a small scale 0.5-1 million tonne per annum starter open pit.

Stage two development would lift production to as much as 12Mtpa of coking coal.

Aspire expects to provide a resource update on the project in March 2012.