Name of the Project
Tiris uranium project.

Location
The project is located in the Sahara Desert in north-east Mauritania.

Project Owner/s
The project is owned by Tiris Resources (85%), a subsidiary of Aura Energy, and the Mauritanian government through its agency Societe Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbons et de Patrimone Minier (15%).

Project Description
Titis is the first major calcrete uranium discovery in the region.

A definitive feasibility study has confirmed the uranium project as a low capital- and operating-cost development opportunity.

The project has proven and probable reserves of 10.9-million tonnes grading 336 parts per million for 8.1-million pounds of uranium oxide.

Average uranium oxide production is estimated at 823 000 lb, with life-of-mine (LoM) production estimated at 12.35-million pounds of uranium oxide.

The beneficiation plant ore throughput rate is estimated at 1.25-million tonnes a year and that of the process plant at 160 000 t/y.

The LoM has been estimated at 15 years.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value including royalties and tax, at an 8% discount rate, of $89.9-million and an internal rate of return of 26%, including royalties and tax, with a project payback from startup of 3.25 years.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at $62.94-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Aura plans to optimise the project’s capital cost further, while investigating ways of reducing the operating costs and validate vanadium recovery options.

The company will also focus on securing a funding package for the Tiris project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Minecore (engineering consultant), Simulus Group (leaching/ion exchange engineering consultant); Adelaide Control Engineering (uranium processing engineering consultant); Mining Plus (mine design consultant); General Studies and Achievements in Africa (geotechnical consultant): PhotoSat (satellite surveying); H&S Consultants (resource estimation); 3D Exploration (grade determination by gamma logging); Poseidon Geophysics (downhole gamma logging); Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation (metallurgical testwork, steady-state simulation, uranium disequilibrium); Australian MinMet Metallurgical Laboratories (metallurgical testwork); CSIRO Minerals, University of SA, Pontifex Associates (mineralogy); Activation Laboratories (uranium determination); Geoterra (hydrogeological consulting); SES (water geophysics); ALS Global (chemical analysis); Wallis Drilling (air-core drilling); Capital Drilling (diamond drilling); Earth Systems (environmental and environmental- and social impact assessment consultants); METS Engineering (operating cost review); and Golders Associates (groundwater supply review).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Aura Energy, tel +61 3 9516 6500 or email info@auraenergy.com.au.