Mongolia-based mineral exploration company Xanadu Mines Ltd. has announced that it has finalized an agreement on the acquisition of the Nuurstei coking coal project in northern Mongolia as part of its strategic alliance with Noble Group, Asia's largest diversified commodities trading company.
The deal represents the first major coking coal acquisition for the newly formed Xanadu-Noble alliance which was created in March this year, and it will be undertaken by Ekhgoviin Chuluu LLC (EC), the joint venture company between Xanadu and Noble.
Brian Thornton, Xanadu's chairman, said "Nuurstei demonstrates the determination by the alliance to become the principal mid-tier coking coal group operating in Mongolia, now commonly referred to as an emerging energy and metals powerhouse."
The company expects the first phase will include 3,500 meters of diamond and mud rotary drilling and will take at least two months to complete. Preliminary coal quality results will be available in early July 2011.
The Nuurstei joint venture underpins the core strategy of EC which aims to identify and develop significant coking coal opportunities, close to existing infrastructure, that will meet anticipated current and future demand from China and the North Asian markets.