Aura is progressing its plans to expand and start uranium production at its Tiris project with the appointment of Dr Will Goodall as its acting chief executive officer.

Dr Goodall is no stranger to Aura Energy (ASX:AEE), having worked with the Company for over 10 years, and has been its principal metallurgist since 2018.

He was responsible for delivering the scoping and definitive feasibility studies for the Tiris project in Mauritania and the uranium scoping study for the Häggån project in Sweden.

The company’s new acting chief executive has over 20 years of experience in mineral processing and hydrometallurgy across a wide range of commodities. His appointment comes on the back of Aura’s strategic board restructure in December, which has allowed the company to focus on uranium production at Tiris.

“I am pleased to take on the role of acting CEO of Aura. I look forward to leveraging the strengths and leadership of the current team to drive the company in expanding our uranium resources and advancing Tiris towards uranium production,” Dr Goodall noted.

“Having worked with Aura for over 10 years and being responsible for delivery of the Tiris scoping and definitive feasibility studies, I see the project as an exciting opportunity for Aura to move rapidly into uranium production

Non-executive chairman Phil Mitchell added that Dr Goodall’s project experience will help rapidly build momentum as the company focuses on resource expansion and the transition to uranium production.

Aura has also started the recruitment process to appoint a permanent managing director and chief executive with significant production experience, with the goal of finalising this process over the next six months.

Tiris uranium project

Tiris is an advanced stage, low capex, low operating cost uranium project in Mauritania that the company had made significant progress with in 2021.

In the company’s updated Definitive Feasibility Study, it estimated capital expenditure at a very palatable US$74.8m and cash costs of US$25.43/lb of U3O8, making it one of the most attractive near term development prospects in the uranium market.

This low cost is thanks to the shallow orebody, soft material, no crushing or grinding and an innovative beneficiation step which lowers the volume of material to be processed.

Tiris is expected to produce 12.4 million pounds of U3O8 over 15 years, delivering after-tax net present value and internal rate of return of US$79.9m and 22% respectively using an assumed price of US$60/lb.  Uranium prices have potential to rise higher than these long term estimates and Aura is working to expand the Tiris Resource to support higher production rates early in the project life.

Payback is expected within four years.

The project has environmental and development permits in place and Aura has signed a US$20m offtake financing agreement with London-based Curzon Uranium Trading.

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Aura Energy, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.