Using radiometric survey data and historical drilling results, Aura Energy Ltd (ASX:AEE, AIM:AURA) has identified new uranium exploration targets at its Tiris Project in Mauritania, West Africa, that the company believes could significantly expand the project’s existing resource.
Preliminary work has identified seven targets in Tiris East with the potential to contribute 30-60 million tonnes at 120-240 parts per million (ppm) U3O8 for 8-32 million pounds of U3O8.
While these figures are conceptual in nature, they highlight the world-class potential of the project, if materialised.
The Tiris Project has a mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 113 million tonnes at an average grade of 236 ppm containing 58.9 million pounds of U3O8, which was upgraded in February this year.
Drilling imminent
The uranium exploration company expects to commence a 15,500-metre aircore drilling program at Tiris East imminently.
Drilling will be to a depth of between one and 20 metres, and will cover some 78 square kilometres on existing tenements.
The program is expected to be completed within two months of the commencement of drilling, with an updated MRE to be completed shortly after.
Simultaneously, Aura will commence pre-construction works, including the geotechnical drilling of Tiris’ proposed plant site to allow for trial mining, which will provide valuable data for production planning.
Tiris Project target areas.
Pushing for global scale
“Aura’s strategy is to be development-ready in relation to our Tiris Project, and this strategy is progressing and accelerated as we aim to expand our mineral resource,” Aura managing director David Woodall said.
“The near-term, low-cost, producer status of our Tiris Project was confirmed by our March 2023 enhanced definitive feasibility study.
“Further resource expansion towards 100 million pounds of U3O8 progresses the project towards a global scale and reinforces the potential for Mauritania to be a material producer in the near term.
“The robust economics of our Tiris Uranium Project will be further enhanced by increasing our mineral resources and reserves.
“Due to the modular nature of the project, we see outstanding opportunities to grow the annual production capacity of the project to 3.5 million pounds per annum, equivalent to the planned back-end plant capacity.”
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