Name of the Project
Tiris uranium project.

Location
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 (DFS) 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
An updated capital cost estimate for the Tiris uranium project, in Mauritania, 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
Since completion of the DFS in 2019, global economic conditions have changed, with increases in steel, freight and other project development costs driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, Aura has updated the capital costs for the DFS to ensure that in the two years since completion, the input costs remain valid.

The updated capital cost study has placed the C1 costs at $25.43/lb uranium and the all-in sustaining cost at $29.81/lb uranium, with production and life-of-mine parameters remaining unchanged.

The project’s after-tax cash flow has been estimated at $214-million, with the internal rate of return estimated at 22%.

“In the current uranium market environment, a key attribute of any uranium development project is the capital cost . . . Aura has strived through the entire DFS to maintain this cost at the lowest level possible whilst retaining a robust development design. With the $74.8-million capital defined, with 85% of the capital estimate from supplier quotes, Aura now stands among its peers as having one of the lowest, if not the lowest, all-in life-of-mine capital of any of the currently proposed uranium development projects,” CEO Peter Reeves has said.

Tiris remains a highly robust uranium project, which the company aims to capitalise on as the uranium market continues to recover. With the DFS now updated with 2021 capital figures, Aura is well positioned to continue its discussions with global financiers with regard to debt and equity funding arrangements, Reeves has said.

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 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 social impact assessment consultants); METS Engineering (operating cost review); and Golders Associates (groundwater supply review).

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