KEY POINTS:
Aura’s Managing Director and CEO, Andrew Grove commented:
“The updated economics from the Production Target Update clearly show the very significant value inherent at Tiris as Aura Energy rapidly progress towards the funding and development of the Project. The US$4.5 million drilling program undertaken earlier this year not only delivered a 55% increase In Mineral Resources3 but has also demonstrated over US$100 million of additional Project NPV, now standing at US$499 million. It is our strong belief that there is still very significant potential to continue to add to the Mineral Resource and Reserve inventory around Tiris East and across the whole northern Mauritanian region, within the 13,000km2 of tenements that Aura has under application4.
With the current large scale of the Mineral Resource Estimate inventory and future resource growth potential, the prospect for significant increase in the uranium production rate from Tiris once in production is very real and we are working on assessing, analysing and shortly presenting the results from the work currently being undertaken.
The updated Production Target study has not only increased the mine life and significantly improved the project economics but has simplified and de-risked the early mining sequence and brought forward some uranium production by 21% in the first year, and by 9% over the first five years compared to the FEED study5. These improved metrics will further support the funding process which is currently underway with indicative offers due this quarter.
The Company is rapidly working towards achieving the Final Investment Decision by the end of the current quarter with many activities underway including water drilling, engagement with EPCM contractors and operational readiness preparations. And we look forward to providing further updates on progress.”
Key highlights and outcomes of the updated Production Target:
The update to the production target for the FEED study5 has allowed revenue to be moved forward in the mining schedule and also increased the overall life of mine.
Modular design provides opportunities for further capital efficient expansion and scalability
The update to the Production Target based on the successful exploration drilling program to update the Mineral Resource Estimate6 confirms the value in continued growth of the Tiris Project. The modular circuit design shown in Figure 1 allows flexibility in production scheduling and potential for rapid and simple expansion of production capacity.
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