Oyu Tolgoi agreement has positive impact on Mongolian mining

Australian Aspire Mining welcomed the announcement that Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill Resources and the Government of Mongolia have signed the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan. The Plan addresses the key outstanding shareholder issues and sets out an agreed basis for the funding of the project.

The Plan represents a key milestone for Mongolia and confirms the country as an attractive jurisdiction for large scale capital investment. Aspire expects the Plan will also act as catalyst for further foreign investment. The announcement of the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement in October 2009 itself facilitated substantial investment and growth in the Mongolian economy.

Oyu Tolgoi is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia and is a world class copper-gold mine with some US$8 billion invested to date. The Company is not a party to the Plan. For further information, refer to the announcements on the Turquoise Hill Resources and Rio Tinto web sites.