Aura Energy Completes Tiris Uranium Feasibility Study

Diversified company Aura Energy (ASX:AEE,LSE:AURA) has completed a positive definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Tiris uranium project in Mauritania.

The study shows that the construction-ready African project can be developed with a low capital cost.

According to Aura, at US$62.9 million, Tiris’ capital cost is among the lowest of any uranium project in development, making for a potentially lucrative investment.

“In the current uranium market environment, a key attribute of any uranium development project is the capital cost of development,” notes the company in a statement. “Aura has strived through the entire DFS to maintain this cost at the lowest level possible whilst retaining a robust development design.”

The forecasted operational cost to keep the asset in production is also low. The C1 cash cost for Tiris will be US$25.43 per pound, while the all-in sustaining cost will be US$29.81 per pound.

Aura expects the Tiris uranium property to be in operation for 15 years, producing 823,000 pounds of U3O8 annually, and 12.35 million pounds over the mine’s life.

Vanadium, an increasingly important battery metal and a by-product of uranium mining, has also been identified at Tiris. The company has performed some preliminary testing on the vanadium resource, commenting, “The Tiris project value, which is driven by low operating and development capital costs, would benefit further with vanadium recovery which is considered technically achievable.”

When the project enters production it will be first uranium mine in the country to come online.

In 2012, another Australian explorer, Forte Energy, began exploring an area in the northern portion of country. However, the company was delisted, and its exploration leases subsequently expired in 2015.

Aura has been working to advance Tiris since 2008, when it identified the region’s first major calcrete uranium discovery.

Mauritania has a robust mining sector already, which includes a variety of iron, gold, copper and phosphate mining projects. It also has a healthy uranium, tantalum, oil and gas exploration sector.

Moving forward, Aura will work on securing all the funding needed for Tiris, and will further examine the project’s vanadium potential.

Shares of Aura Energy were flat on Tuesday (July 30), trading at AU$0.012.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.