Name of the Project
Tiris uranium project.
Location
Sahara Desert, 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
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 has signed a mining convention with the government of Mauritania for its Tiris uranium project.
The mining convention covers an initial 30-year period, and provides stability for the project by defining the legal and economic conditions that will allow for mining at the site.
The mining convention includes a tax rate of 25%, a royalty rate of 3.5% free-on-board value, value added tax exemption for the import of movable goods, materials, equipment, vehicles and other inputs, the right to import and transport mineral substances required for mining, a defined State participation of up to 20%, and an accelerated depreciation in the first three years following the start of commercial production.
Aura has also signed a shareholder agreement with the Mauritanian government’s Agence Nationale de Recherches Géologiques et du Patrimoine Minier (ANARPAM) to partner in the development and operation of the uranium mine.
ANARPAM will hold a 15% free participating interest in Tiris, which cannot be diluted, and will hold the right to an option to acquire a further 5% interest in the project at an independently determined value.
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.