COMMODITY trader Noble Group said yesterday that

it has sold its 100 per cent stake in a Mongolian

company for US$65 million (S$87 million) in cash.

The company, Enkhtunkh Orchlon (EO), owns 50,022ha of land in Mongolia's South Gobi basin.

Noble said it has previously conducted exploration activities overseen by an independent international geological consulting group on the land.

The exploration included mapping, ground magnetic and geophysical surveys,

and drilling 200 test holes, "which confirmed coking

and thermal coal" on the land.

It said the exploration

had previously confirmed

the development prospects

of the plot as a "contiguous extension" of land owned

by Australia-based Guildford Coal on which commercial production work is being carried out.

Noble said the book value and net tangible asset value

of the shares of EO at

the date of disposal were US$57.8 million and

US$57.5 million respectively.