Name of the Project
Tiris uranium project.

Location
Sahara Desert, north-east Mauritania.

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

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

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

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
An updated capital cost estimate for the project has increased the projected cost by 10.4%.

The project is expected to require a capital investment of $74.8-million, compared with the $62.9-million estimated in the 2019 DFS.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Aura Energy will raise A$10-million in a share placement to progress its Tiris uranium project towards development and fund resource growth.

The company reported on May 3 that it had received firm commitments for the placement of 54.05-million shares, at 18.5c each, with the offer price representing a 17.8% discount to Aura’s last closing price and a 23.6% discount to the company’s five-day volume weighted average share price.

The placement will be done under Aura’s existing placement capacity, and will not require shareholder approval.

The share purchase plan will open on May 17 and close on June 13. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
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 South Australia, 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 social-impact assessment consultants); METS Engineering (operating cost review); Golders Associates (groundwater supply review); ANSTO Minerals (bulk metallurgical testwork); Mintek (pilot-scale tests); DRA Global and its subsidiary SENET (front-end engineering design study for the project); and Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec and Adelaide Control Engineering (design of the processing circuit).

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