PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Minerals developer 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 would allow 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 now also inked a shareholder agreement with the Mauritanian government’s gence 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.

“What we see is the potential of the Tiris region in the uranium world. With the formalisation of our Mining Convention and our partnership with ANARPAM, we are keen to work with the government of Mauritania to develop the Tiris resource,” said Aura chairperson Phil Mitchell.

“Our increased knowledge and our belief in the quality of the resource gained from the drilling programme and the expansion studies, to be released imminently, we believe, will allow us to develop a world-class uranium operation.”

A 2019 definitive feasibility study estimated that Tiris would require a capital investment of $62.9-million and would produce 12.4-million pounds of uranium oxide over a 15-year mine life.