(EnergyAsia, March 8 2013, Friday) — Canada’s Prophecy Coal Corp said its wholly owned Mongolian subsidiary, Prophecy Power Generation LLC, has been granted the use of a 532.4-hectare plot of land for the proposed construction of a 600MW power plant in the electricity-short Asian country.

The Vancouver-based company said the Mongolian government granted the rights for the Chandgana power plant project on February 22

Led by its country manager, Oscar Mendoza, Prophecy said it undertook major efforts in recent months to secure the land use rights, including extensive consultation with local citizens and representatives of Murun Soum and the surrounding area regarding the impacts and benefits of the power plant.

Describing it as the largest foreign investment in Khentii Aimag province, Prophecy said the proposed project is expected to generate over 500 direct permanent jobs for local residents and another 1,500 indirect jobs when the power plant starts up in 2016.

Prophecy said it has committed to constructing more than 250 modern housing units with heat, recreational facilities and education centres, and to providing grants to make Murun Soum and the surrounding area one of the most economically attractive and desirable living areas in Mongolia.

With the land use rights in place, the company said it has awarded a contract to Erchim Concern LLC to bring 4MW of temporary power to the Chandgana site from a local 35kV power line.

Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Prophecy Coal Corp is developing energy projects in Mongolia including the Chandgana coal-fired power plant located adjacent to its Chandgana coal deposit.

Another wholly owned subsidiary, Chandgana Coal LLC, is expected to supply 3.5 million tonnes of coal per year to Prophecy Power Generation LLC for 25 years. Chandgana Coal controls over 1.2 billion tonnes of thermal coal in the measured and indicated categories, including two mining licences containing 124 million tonnes of measured resource with a strip ratio of 0.7 to 1.