Aura Energy progressing its Häggån polymetallic project with exploitation permit application

Aura Energy has lodged an exploitation permit application for its Häggån polymetallic project in Sweden
Permit will give Aura a 25-year tenure over the project, allowing the company to progress its goal of developing a sustainable and profitable mine
It comes as the Swedish government continues the process aimed at lifting its ban on uranium extraction

Special Report: With its Tiris uranium project in Mauritania accelerating towards production, Aura Energy continues progressing its other projects, lodging an exploitation permit application for its Häggån project in Sweden.

The Häggån project in the municipality of Berg in the county of Jämtland in central Sweden already contains a globally significant resource of ~2Bt of future-facing metals such as vanadium, potassium, nickel, zinc, molybdenum, and uranium.

Aura Energy’s (ASX:AEE) Exploitation Permit application for Häggån K no 1 to the Swedish Mining Inspectorate includes a preliminary assessment of the project that spells out its economics along with both environmental and community impact.

Should the permit be granted, the company will have a 25-year tenure over the project that – pending approval from the Swedish Government – paves the way for it to carry out further environmental and social impact studies, with the ultimate goal of developing a profitable mine that operates sustainably, responsibly and in full compliance with Swedish regulations.

AEE has also applied for a new exploration licence, Häggån no 2, that covers all the areas of the original Häggån no 1 exploration licence and an exception to the prohibition year, which allows it to apply for the new licence where normally no parties are allowed to apply for the expired tenure for 12 months.

The company noted that the original Häggån no 1 exploration licence will remain valid while the Swedish Mining Inspectorate considers the Häggån K no 1 Exploitation Permit application. The second exploration licence would be considered after that.

Aura expects its applications to be considered favourably due to the amount of work it had undertaken to date.

Häggån K no 1 exploitation application area showing planned infrastructure. Pic: Aura Energy

Sweden considering lifting of uranium ban

AEE’s move to realise the value of Häggån, which could generate NPV of US$456m to US$1.3bn according to the 2023 scoping study, comes as the Swedish government considers lifting its current ban on uranium mining.

Should the ban be lifted, it would allow the company to develop the very significant uranium resource of >800Mlbs at the project, which was not included in the scoping study but could increase NPV by 37% assuming a uranium price of US$65/lb U3O8.

Additionally, its Exploitation Permit application does not consider producing uranium because of the current uranium mining ban and treats the energy metal as a waste product that will be stabilised and disposed of in an environmentally safe manner.

“The Exploitation Permit application process has confirmed some crucial matters about the Häggån future facing metals project, stemming from our work focused on both environment and social impacts,” managing director Andrew Grove said.

“Sweden is currently the EU’s leading mining and mineral nation, and Sweden’s minerals strategy will strengthen that position by using its mineral resources sustainably.

“Importantly, we expect this to help Aura to create jobs and support economic growth in Sweden as we progress the project development.

“The Swedish government acknowledges that nuclear power is critical for Sweden to achieve its clean energy ambitions. Against this backdrop, we welcome the government process aimed at lifting Sweden’s ban on uranium extraction in both a socially and environmentally sustainable manner.”

He added that the scoping study, which underpins the Exploitation Permit application, only considered about 3%, or 65Mt of the Häggån resource.

“Aura Energy is confident that further drilling will continue to de-risk the resource and likely increase mine life and further enhance the project economics.

“The world’s decarbonisation quest together with the mining environment in Sweden support a strong future for the Häggån project.

“Häggån is a significant project which could transform both Aura and the Swedish energy metals mining industry and, as part of its evaluation, Aura will review all options to create value from the project for all stakeholders.”

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.