Australian coal developer Hunnu Coal will acquire a 60% interest in the Unst Khudag coal mine, which is expected to start production during the latter part of this year. The property consists of two exploration licenses and a mining license covering around 59,000 hectares, and is located about 200 km from an operational multi-party coal loading facility on a rail line. The project also has an approved mining plan and feasibility study for mining a proposed 98.7 million tons of coal, starting by the end of this year.

Hunnu has said that it was currently undertaking a detailed operational review of the Unst Khudag mine, with particular attention to qualifying the coal tonnage and coal quality, as well as reviewing existing coal test work and bulk sampling results. The company would also review the current mine plan and feasibility study, and would aim to establish offtake contracts.

Hunnu noted that the acquisition of the Unst Khudag project would quickly move the company from an explorer to a near-term producer. Further, Hunnu was continuing to assess a number of additional acquisition opportunities to assist in this target. Hunnu holds a number of exploration tenements in Mongolia, as well as a number of rights.