Name of the Project
Tiris uranium project.

Location
Mauritania.

Project Owner/s
Uranium exploration company Aura Energy.

Project Description
In September 2024, Aura Energy reported in an update to the February 2024 front-end engineering design (FEED), a 44% increase in life-of-mine (LoM) production from 30.1-million pounds a year to 43.5-million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U₃O₈) in the FEED. This follows the upgrading of the project's mineral resource to 91.3-million pounds of U₃O₈.

The update also noted an increase in the project’s mine life from 17 years to 25 years.

The processing plant will average 1.8-million pounds a year of U₃O₈ from the two-million pound-a-year-capacity U₃O₈ process plant.

Envisaged is a shallow free-dig openpit mining and beneficiation operation, with the operation delivering a high-grade leach feed averaging 2 217 parts per million (ppm) U₃O₈, an increase from 1 997 ppm U₃O₈ (over first five years) in the FEED. This remains overall about the same at 1 752 ppm U₃O₈ from 1 743 ppm U₃O₈ in the FEED at a very low average cost of $9.16/lb U₃O₈.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Aura reported in September 2024 that economics on the project had improved, with the net present value (NPV) having increased by 29% to $499-million, compared with $388-million set out in the February FEED study. The after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) is now estimated at 39%, compared with the 36% estimated in February.

Payback has decreased by 10% to 2.25 years.

Capital Expenditure
$230-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First production at the project is targeted for 2026/27.

Latest Developments
Aura Energy has undertaken an assessment of the opportunities for future capacity expansion. The assessment demonstrates the significant growth opportunity at the project through a future expansion of the project from Stage 1 cash flows, improving confidence in the inferred mineral resources and further exploration success.

The assessment used inputs from the September production target update and the recently expanded 91.3-million-pound U₃O₈ mineral resource.

Alternative production targets have been based on an analysis of opportunities to accelerate production in Year 3 of operation, without any other material changes to the underlying assumptions or levels of confidence – not replacing the base case, but rather demonstrating optionality for the Tiris project once in operation. 

Options have been analysed to expand production capacity in the third year of operations – from the initial development plan of a 4.1-million-tonne-a-year mine rate producing about two-million pounds of U₃O₈ – by accelerating the mining rate and increasing production capacity.

Production scenarios have been assessed for mining rates of 6.25-million tonnes a year producing about three-million pounds a year of U₃O₈, and 8.2-million tonnes a year producing about four-million pounds a year of U₃O₈.

The first option returned the highest NPV and improved economics.

Results included an NPV of about $544-million (A$836-million) – an increase of 9% on the base case – and an IRR of about 45% after-tax and payback of about 2.5 years.

Moreover, the option indicates high-margin average yearly after-tax cash flows over the LoM of about $86-million, an increase of 37% and average of about $116-million over the first five years of operations.

Additional development capital is fundable from cashflow.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Wood (basic engineering and early works definition programme); and ECG Engineering (power generation solution).

Contact Details for Project Information
Aura Energy, tel +61 3 9101 8551 or email info@auraenergy.com.au.