Aspire Mining Limited

Career chronology

• Executive director from 7 December 2018; executive chairman from 8 September 2025: Aspire Mining Limited — Executive Chairman; previously Managing Director and Executive Director. Annual Report year ended 31 December 2025 (Directors report: information on directors)

• Founded 2005; exact end date not established: Mongolia International Capital Corporation — Founder and President. Appointment of Mongolian director (Page 1: appointment of Mongolian director and biography)

Education and qualifications

Reported education

2013 announcement · issuer reported · low materiality

A 2013 Modun announcement reports a master’s degree in international relations from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College. The credentials were not independently verified with the institutions.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Issuer biography reports the degrees; direct university confirmation not found.

Relevance: Relevant to finance and governance role.

Appointment of Mongolian director (Page 1: appointment biography)

Contributions and company outcomes

Initial Ovoot bond funds raised

September–October 2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality

Aspire reported that its Ovoot subsidiary had raised US$11.2 million across ten bond tranches by 28 October 2026, toward a US$60 million program; the issuer also reported cash of US$2.1 million at 30 September. Further funding is not guaranteed.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Company-level funding result during his tenure; the extent of personal contribution is not established.

Relevance: Shows progress alongside continuing financing needs.

September 2026 quarterly activities report (Pages 2–3, quarter highlights and Ovoot Bond)

Governance and interests

Ovoot subsidiary excluded from 2023 EITI reconciliation

2023 reporting, report issued 2024 · documented · high materiality

The Mongolia EITI report for 2023 lists Khuragtalkhairkhan, registration 5104424, as excluded for reason “Refused” and names Darambazar as executive officer. Mongolian government records identify the matching registration as Khurgatai Khairkhan; Aspire identifies the latter as its wholly owned Ovoot subsidiary. The report does not identify who made the decision or state that a law was breached. Searches of the later 2024 reconciliation report did not establish a later disposition.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. The report names him as executive officer, but does not attribute the refusal decision to him.

Relevance: Transparency and governance evidence relevant to the project-owning entity.

Mongolia 18th EITI reconciliation report for 2023 (Table 11, enterprise 2); Mongolian government payment record (Page 2, payment record 5104424); Annual Report year ended 31 December 2025 (Notes: controlled entities, Khurgatai Khairkhan); Mongolia 19th EITI reconciliation report for 2024 (Main report and annex search for name and registration 5104424)

Related-party services disclosed

FY2025 and first half 2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality

Aspire’s 2025 report and June 2026 financial statements disclose services purchased from MICC, an entity related to Darambazar. Disclosure alone does not establish improper terms or a breach.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. The related-party relationship is disclosed; personal transaction approval and any impropriety are not established.

Relevance: Relevant to conflict-management transparency.

Annual Report year ended 31 December 2025 (Financial statement notes: related parties); Half-year report 30 June 2026 (Note 17: related parties)

Evidence gaps

• Underlying correspondence or explanation for the EITI nonparticipation was not obtained; the later participation status is not established.

• Credentials were not independently checked with the universities.

• Individual contribution to bond proceeds and private finance transactions was not independently quantified.

• Mongolian-language court and regulator records and past roles could not be exhaustively searched.

Career chronology

• 16 May 2023–cutoff: Aspire Mining — Chief Executive Officer. Quarterly Activities Report June 2023 (Printed page 11, Board and Management)

• 16 March 2020–May 2023: Aspire Mining — Chief Operating Officer. Quarterly Activities Report June 2023 (Printed page 11, Board and Management)

• By 2017–2019; exact start/end dates not established: TerraCom — Mongolia Business Unit Head. TerraCom annual report 2017 (Page 15, management biographies); Appointment of Chief Operating Officer (Page 1, prior employer)

• From October 2012; end date not established: Mongolian Mining Corporation — Chief Operating Officer. Mongolian Mining annual report 2013 (Page 12, directors and senior management); Mongolian Mining annual report 2014 (Directors and senior management)

Education and qualifications

Reported mining engineering degree

2013 and 2017 biographies · issuer reported · low materiality

MMC and TerraCom report a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from the University of New South Wales. Independent confirmation from the university was not obtained.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Reported by prior employers; no independent university verification obtained.

Relevance: Relevant technical qualification for mining role.

Mongolian Mining annual report 2013 (Page 12, management biography); TerraCom annual report 2017 (Page 15, management biographies)

Contributions and company outcomes

Mongolian operating experience

2012–2014 · documented · medium materiality

ABC interviewed Bowles at MMC’s Ukhaa Khudag operation in 2012 and described him overseeing operations. MMC reported 5.4 million tonnes of coal sold during 2014; the corporate figure is not a measured personal contribution.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Contemporaneous reporting connects his role to the operation; aggregate sales cannot be allocated to an individual.

Relevance: Relevant to mine, processing and export experience.

The Big Dig: Mongolia mine operations (Mine operations interview); Mongolian Mining annual report 2014 (Management discussion: marketing and sales)

Ovoot site establishment and early financing

September–October 2026 · issuer reported · medium materiality

Aspire reported contractor mobilisation, a camp and concrete batching plant at the coal preparation site and US$11.2 million in bond tranches raised by late October. Production had not commenced; forecast development remains dependent on further funding.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Issuer describes company activities during CEO tenure; individual contribution to site work and fundraising is not established.

Relevance: Shows development progress while distinguishing milestones from production.

September 2026 quarterly activities report (Pages 2–3, CHPP site establishment and bond issuance)

Industrial safety

Fatal incidents during former COO tenure

2013–2016 · issuer reported · high materiality

Mongolian Mining Corporation reported one fatality at Ukhaa Khudag in November 2013 and two further fatalities in 2014 at the Tsagaan Khad stockyard and on the haul road. Its report identifies Bowles as COO responsible for mining and processing from October 2012. MMC said investigations of the 2014 incidents had concluded and no further corporate liability existed; underlying regulator reports were not obtained. MMC later reported zero fatalities in both 2015 and 2016.

Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. His executive role overlapped the 2013–2014 events, but the sources do not establish personal fault or control of each location. Later zero-fatality figures are corporate results, not a personal attribution.

Relevance: Material prior safety oversight context and subsequent reported company trend.

Mongolian Mining annual report 2013 (Pages 12 and 44; sustainability report page 82); Mongolian Mining annual report 2014 (Directors and senior management; OHSE and sustainability report); Mongolian Mining annual report 2016 (Printed page 63, Table 15: safety statistics)

Evidence gaps

• Exact end date of his Mongolian Mining Corporation employment was not established; his role during the later 2016–17 debt restructuring is therefore unknown.

• The 2013 and 2014 underlying regulator investigation files were not obtained; company reports describe their outcomes.

• The degree and professional memberships have not been independently verified.

• Individual contributions to company-wide production, finance and safety trends are not measured.

Career chronology

• 6 December 2022–cutoff: Aspire Mining — Company Secretary; Joint Company Secretary and Communications Officer from 23 October 2026. Annual financial report year ended 31 December 2023 (Page 11, company secretary); Appointment of Joint Company Secretary (Page 1, Austin continued role)

Education and qualifications

Reported governance qualification

2023 report · issuer reported · low materiality

Aspire’s 2023 annual report reports a graduate diploma in applied corporate governance and risk management and Governance Institute membership. Independent confirmation was not obtained.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Issuer-reported qualification and membership; no independent confirmation.

Relevance: Relevant to governance duties.

Annual financial report year ended 31 December 2023 (Page 11, company secretary biography)

Suitability for the current role

Governance experience and joint secretarial role

2022–2026 · analyst inference · medium materiality

Analyst inference: Aspire’s 2023 annual report describes corporate secretarial and governance experience across listed and private entities; its October 2026 announcement states she continues as joint company secretary and communications officer. This supports relevance to disclosure administration but does not independently demonstrate individual effectiveness.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Judgment relates to documented role and reported experience, not a verified personal outcome.

Relevance: Relevant to board support and ASX communications.

Annual financial report year ended 31 December 2023 (Page 11, company secretary biography); Appointment of Joint Company Secretary (Page 1, continuation)

Evidence gaps

• Professional memberships and qualifications were not independently verified.

• Prior employer and client histories are not sufficiently dated for comprehensive outcome screening.

• Identically named people in other fields were not attributed without identity evidence.

Career chronology

• 23 October 2026–cutoff: Aspire Mining — Joint Company Secretary. Appointment of Joint Company Secretary (Page 1, appointment)

Education and qualifications

Reported accounting and governance credentials

As reported October 2026 · issuer reported · low materiality

Aspire reports a Master of Professional Accounting from Melbourne Institute of Technology and Governance Institute of Australia membership. Independent verification was not obtained.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Source is Aspire; no institution or professional body confirmation obtained.

Relevance: Relevant to governance responsibilities.

Appointment of Joint Company Secretary (Page 1, appointment biography)

Suitability for the current role

Company secretarial experience

As reported October 2026 · analyst inference · medium materiality

Analyst inference: Aspire reports more than 13 years of secretarial, regulatory and corporate-governance experience across Australia and India, relevant to her joint secretary role. Her appointment is recent and Aspire-specific outcomes have not yet been independently assessed.

Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Role relevance is a judgment from an issuer biography, not independently verified delivery.

Relevance: Relevant to governance and exchange communications.

Appointment of Joint Company Secretary (Page 1, appointment biography)

Evidence gaps

• The issuing institution and professional body did not independently verify the stated qualifications.

• Prior clients and employers and exact dates were not established for comprehensive prior-employer checks.

• Namesake legal results were not attributed because identity could not be established.

• The very recent role start leaves little observable Aspire-specific outcome evidence.