TIDMAURA
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29th APRIL 2017
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
("Aura" or the "Company")
MARCH QUARTERLY REPORT
KEY POINTS:
TIRIS PROJECT (Mauritania)
· Tiris Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) has progressed strongly in all
areas
· Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) largely complete
· Tiris Shareholders Agreement with Mauritanian Government currently under
negotiation
· Tiris Project Water Study approaching drill testing phase
· Tiris Resource Upgrade drilling to commence in May
· Metallurgical test work to commence in June
· Mining Lease Application to be lodged in May
TASIAST SOUTH GOLD PROJECT (Mauritania)
· Planning continued for exploration of Aura's gold tenements
· Strong regional drill results continue by Algold Resources (TSX)
· Finalisation exploration permits expected soon
· Cobalt and other base metal potential reviewed
AMARE LITHIUM AND SODA ASH PROJECT (Mauritania)
· Results from initial sampling are being analysed to determine next steps
HÄGGÅN PROJECT (Sweden)
· Diamond drilling program was undertaken on two areas aimed at establishing
a Measured Resource in this area
· Work continues on the Community Engagement brief
· Desktop study of Häggån metal content undertaken to highlight the
significant polymetallic potential of the project
CORPORATE
· Key shareholders exercised unlisted options early unlocking $1.84M for the
company which will be used to explore the gold and base metal prospects
· Aura instituted a Sale Facility for shareholders who hold unmarketable
parcels of shares in the Company
Quarterly Overview
During the March Quarter Aura Energy focussed significant effort on advancing
the Tiris Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) with strong progress achieved
across many areas. Aura continues to maintain that its ability to get Tiris
into production is the main near-term driver of shareholder returns.
Work on the Tiris DFS centred around the submission for the Mining Lease
Application which entails a range of other activities to be completed.
Substantial work on the EISA was completed including the Flora, Fauna and
Archaeology Studies etc and community consultation meetings are scheduled to
occur in early May. Other areas including resource drilling and upgrade, water
search and metallurgical test work progressed past the planning phase.
Aura also maintained a strong focus on exploration on planning for exploration
on its significant Tasiast South gold and base metal prospects whilst noting
further gold drill results on the adjacent tenements of Algold Resources (TSX).
Final granting of the permits to allow commencement of field exploration has
been slower than expected however this is expected shortly.
Drilling was undertaken at two resource areas on the Häggån Project in Sweden
and discussion on the Community Engagement Program has continued. Significantly
Aura has conducted a desktop review of the polymetallic aspects of the project
which has highlighted possible project upside given the recent increase in base
metal prices.
The commodity backdrop in uranium continues to be buoyant for the term uranium
price series and the sentiment in the sector is solid. The company remains in a
well-funded position.
Tiris Project, MAURITANIA (Aura 100%)
Tiris Project Overview
Aura is conducting a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned 49 million pound U?O?
calcrete uranium project in Mauritania (See Figure 1). The project has low
operating costs and low development capital with strong financial returns under
long-term pricing scenarios.
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Figure 1: Location of Aura's Tiris Project Uranium Resources
Tiris Project Definitive Feasibility Study Update
The DFS for the Tiris Uranium Project in Mauritania recommenced in late 2016
following a successful funding and listing of the company on the London AIM
market. The critical areas of the Tiris project study have been;
· The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
· Preparation for the Mining Lease Application
· Resource validation mainly on Hippolyte
· Resource evaluation for the Resource upgrade to Measured and Indicated
category
· Detailed planning for the metallurgical test work
· Water Study including geophysics, geological reconnaissance and drilling
of targets
· Negotiation of the Tiris Shareholders Agreement - 10% Government interest
The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has been a major area of
work and its main component parts have been;
· Scoping Report and Terms of Reference for the ESIA
· Review of Technical Studies
· Air quality, noise and vibration study
· Surface water and groundwater study
· Soils and geomorphology study
· Waste rock and tailings geochemical assessment
· Ecology and biodiversity study - Flora and Fauna
· Socio-economic study
· Archaeology and cultural heritage study
· Transportation route study
· Health impact assessment
· Management Plans
· Environmental and Social Monitoring and Management Plan (ESMMP)
· Rehabilitation and Conceptual Mine Closure Plan (RCMCP)
· Radiation Management Plan (RMP)
· Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP)
· Impact Assessment
· Community and Government consultation
· Assessment of Project alternatives
· Impact assessment
· Cumulative impact assessment
Much of this work is now complete with no major issues identified. An important
intermediate step was the acceptance by the Government and associated
Environmental Departments of Aura's EISA Terms of Reference. Public
Consultation Meetings are to be held in early May for completion of the
process.
The Mining Lease Application for all the key project areas is due to be
submitted in the coming weeks and all materials are in the process of being
finalised for this documentation.
As highlighted in a market release on the 19th April (Strong Hippolyte South
Uranium Survey) Aura has conducted important Hippolyte Resource Validation work
and enabled greater understanding of the mineralisation. This is a key step
towards the upgrade of the Tiris Resource.
The process of drilling, sampling and downhole gamma logging of the Hippolyte
mineralisation to upgrade the Mineral Resource to the Measured and Indicated
categories is expected to commence in the next 2 weeks, with the sourcing of a
specialist rig for triple tube drilling finally achieved. This will also
involve an additional series of disequilibrium measurements across the orebody.
Disequilibrium is an imbalance between the uranium content and the
radioactivity emitted by a given volume of mineralized rock. This imbalance is
caused by either differential mobilization of the more soluble uranium from the
deposition site, relative to its daughter isotopes, or by a lack of time for
the accumulation of the daughter isotopes to reach a state of equilibrium after
the uranium has been deposited. Hence in a geologically young environment, a
deficiency of daughters relative to uranium will cause an underestimation of
uranium content based on radiometric methods. This will be an important factor
in the final Mineral Resource estimate for Tiris.
As a prudent cost/capital efficiency measure Aura will progressively convert
the Tiris Resource to the Measured and Indicated category with an initial
target for approximately 5 years of production. This will be sufficient for the
DFS and the associated financial study. During operation, using cashflow it is
envisaged the remainder of the Mineral Resource will be converted to the
Measured and Indicated category.
The Metallurgical Test Work program will commence in June 2017 when sufficient
material has been generated from the planned drill campaign. The program which
will be conducted principally by ANSTO Laboratories and will focus on the
various mineralised domains to further assess;
1. Beneficiation response
2. Leaching response
3. Solid liquid separation and
4. Impurity issues, including effect of recirculating load on metal recovery.
This test work is a critical path item and is targeted for completion in
January 2018; however, it is expected to generate sufficient information to
allow the majority of engineering to be complete in 2017.
An extensive Tiris Project Water Study has been underway for over 3 months
including a program of water geophysics focussing principally on the basal
sedimentary units of the Taoudeni Basin to the south of the Tiris project area.
These basal units are known to host substantial water supplies elsewhere in the
region. A few favourable sites on Reguibat Shield rocks, closer to the project
site will also be tested in this program. The geophysics is now complete and
has been reviewed with site reconnaissance underway to assess the target sites
before final drill testing of the targets is undertaken. Drill testing is
expected before mid-year.
The negotiation of the Tiris Shareholders Agreement, which covers the 10%
Government interest in the Project, has been drafted and is currently under
negotiation with the Government. Finalisation of this agreement is required for
the Mining Lease application and is expected to be completed in May 2017.
Other areas that will be commenced following the submission of the Mining Lease
Application include;
· Mining Study
· Detailed Engineering included package cost estimates
· Infrastructure Study
These areas are expected to be completed before calendar year end.
Aura continues to target the end of 2017 for the completion of the majority of
the Tiris DFS, however, it envisages some elements of the Tiris DFS will still
be outstanding at this point. As such, the full DFS is likely to be completed
early in 2018. This slight delay is not expected to impact project
implementation and financing, as a number of parallel activities are planned to
be conducted near the end of the Tiris DFS.
Tiris Resource Upgrade Drilling and Validation
As part of the program to increase the proportion of Indicated and Measured
Resource ultra-detailed ground radiometric surveying was conducted over the key
resource zones to establish more precisely the outlines of, and zonation
within, mineralisation across the major resources. This also added
considerably the understanding of geological controls over the mineralisation.
Detailed ground radiometric survey work was continued over the Hippolyte South
prospect, currently under application, which hosts extensive and strong
radiometric anomalies south of the main Hippolyte resource. The survey clearly
defined several strongly mineralised zones and will greatly assist in defining
drill targets for future resource drilling on this very prospective target.
Hippolyte Downhole Logging Success
Additionally, a program of downhole gamma logging was conducted on 63
drillholes in the key Tiris Resource zone, Hippolyte Zone 1 and has validated
previous drilling and sampling of the project. This coverage is shown in Figure
2.
The downhole gamma logging indicated U3O8 grades that compare well with grades
determined by chemical assay. Aura will proceed to utilise downhole gamma
logging in its next resource upgrade drilling which will commence next month
aimed at converting more of the Tiris Resource into Measured and Indicated
categories.
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Figure 2: Hippolyte Zone 1 showing drillholes logged
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Figure 3: Hippolyte Zone 1 showing detailed ground radiometric survey results
Hippolyte South Ultra-Detailed Ground Radiometric Survey
In May 2015 Aura announced that it had made an application for a mineral
exploration permit over an area of 224 km2 adjoining to the south of its
important Hippolyte uranium resource.
The Hippolyte South permit area had indicated strong uranium responses in
regional airborne radiometric data, similar in strength and size to those over
Aura's nearby resources. The anomalies within this new tenement extend for
more than 15 km and cover an area of approximately 10 km2.
In 2011, Aura carried out a brief reconnaissance drilling programme over these
radiometric highs as part of a possible JV arrangement over the area. This
drilling was broadly spaced with holes 200 metres apart on lines 800 metres or
more apart.
More than 25% of these reconnaissance holes intersected ore-grade
mineralisation (i.e. at least one metre at 100 ppm U3O8 or greater) with values
ranging up to 646 ppm U3O8 (see Figure 5). Details of results are set out in
Table 1.
This latest survey is the first more detailed testing of the broad mineralised
zones following the initial reconnaissance drilling and has confirmed the
confidence in the prospect and indicated large zones of continuous uranium
bearing mineralisation with strong similarities to Aura's key Hippolyte uranium
deposit.
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Figure 5: Hippolyte South area showing reconnaissance drill results.
Background image shows airborne radiometric response.
Figure 6: Location of Hippolyte South ground radiometric surveys in relation
to the Hippolyte resources
Figure 7: Ground radiometric anomalies at Hippolyte South.
In the Hippolyte Resource 6 km to the north, 1 km2 of mineralisation contains
on average 3.2 million lbs U3O8 in Inferred Resource.
Tasiast South gold Project, MAURITANIA (Aura 100%)
Aura Energy Limited announced in late 2016 that it has secured rights to
acquire 175 km2 covering two under-explored mineralised greenstone belts in
Mauritania (See Figure 8). The areas lie along strike from Kinross' giant
Tasiast Gold Mine and from Algold's Tijirit gold deposits. The two areas are
currently held under exploration permit applications and are expected to be
granted in the near future.
These highly prospective gold areas represent an excellent opportunity in
lightly explored Archean greenstone belts and will leverage Aura's extensive
operating experience in this part of the world. The project is favourably
located 200 km from Aura's Nouakchott office, 60 km from the coast, and can be
managed efficiently within the company's existing management resources without
distraction from Aura's core uranium focus.
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Figure 8: Location of Aura areas in relation to known mineralisation
Future Work Program and Other Opportunities
Next steps envisaged at Tasiast South are;
· Ground electrical geophysics to locate the strongest zones of disseminated
sulphide development for drill targeting
· Additional bedrock sampling by air-core or auger-drilling to better define
the high nickel ultramafics and zones of copper/nickel for follow up drilling
· Deep drill testing (RC and DD) of gold and nickel/copper targets defined
Aura's timing for this work is dependent on granting of the permits. Final
granting of the permits to allow commencement of field exploration has been
slower than expected due to departmental procedures in the Mines Ministry
however this is expected shortly.
Cobalt Values in Tasiast south Prospects
During the quarter a review of the base metal potential on these tenements has
highlighted several significant cobalt drilling results. The best results
included:
· 1 metre at 0.58% Co
· 4 metres at 0.48% Co
· 1 metre at 0.46% Co
The Tasiast South project tenements are highly prospective for gold but
previous work also indicated anomalous occurrences of nickel and copper. In a
review of two prospects, Bella and Taet, the elevated cobalt values were
identified.
Importantly sampling for cobalt was sporadic and only 1 in 10 samples assayed
for cobalt. Of the high Co values 14 samples exceeded 0.1% Co, 6 samples
exceeded 0.25% Co and 3 samples near or above 0.5% Co. These results found over
a 1.6 km long drill line (Bella) and with strong nickel and copper values in
ultramafic rocks within 30 metres of the surface, and at Taet where the high
copper values are possibly indicative of sulphides. Drilling to date has tested
only a small part of the ultramafic body and the drill lines were possibly
parallel to strike.
The base metal targets have been considered as secondary targets in the Tasiast
South and very little targeted or comprehensive base metal exploration has been
carried out in these areas. However, considering the range of metals
encountered, the broad areas covered by the base metals and the fact that these
having largely been incidental results achieved via gold exploration Aura now
considers these areas to be highly prospective for base metals.
The range of cobalt values is shown below however it should be reiterated that
cobalt has not been targeted or broadly assayed for and as such Aura will be
reviewing where re-assays for cobalt can be conducted on previously drill
holes. The results are as follows;
Prospect Name Hole ID Easting Northing Depth Depth To Interval Co_% Ni_ppm Cu_ppm
From
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC031 466697 2219203 7 8 1 0.581 5300 488
TOUERIG TAIEUH 12TGAC198 445378 2219429 24 28 4 0.484 9140 400
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC030 466598 2219199 16 17 1 0.445 4190 259
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC030 466598 2219199 17 18 1 0.357 3840 259
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC033 466900 2219203 9 10 1 0.273 3010 247
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC033 466900 2219203 10 11 1 0.260 5250 270
TOUERIG TAIEUH 11TGAC013 444700 2218702 34 35 1 0.218 5650 354
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC031 466697 2219203 6 7 1 0.150 3090 276
HADEBET BELAA 12HBRC007 467373 2219200 22 23 1 0.149 6530 114
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC030 466598 2219199 18 19 1 0.142 7770 238
HADEBET BELAA 12HBAC073 463432 2217212 4 8 4 0.128 15 28.4
TOUERIG TAIEUH 11TGAC033 431000 2212800 52 53 1 0.111 38 120
TOUERIG TAIEUH 11TGAC053 430997 2210803 53 54 1 0.103 11 31
HADEBET BELAA 11HBAC033 466900 2219203 11 12 1 0.102 5110 208
AMARE LITHIUM AND SODA ASH PROJECT (Mauritania)
Aura sampled and assayed the two large Sabkhas (salt pans) in the region of its
Tiris Uranium Project with a view to a source of soda ash for the Tiris Project
and other minerals.
Soda ash is the leach agent proposed for Tiris and if the source were confirmed
it would provide significant benefits to the Tiris Project economics.
The Sabkha's which are 165 km from Hippolyte are large on a relative basis
covering an area of over 85 km2 (See Figure 9). Sabkha is an Arabic name for a
salt-flat that has come into general use in sedimentology. They are also known
as "Salars" in South America and generically as salt pans or flats. The
valuable salts can occur in the Sabkha environment either in clays at or near
surface or in brine reservoirs deeper in the lake sediments.
The location of the Sabkha between Aura's Tiris Project East and West tenements
provide a favourable location should a source of soda ash (Na2CO3) be
identified.
Initial sampling of the Amare lithium and soda ash prospect was undertaken late
last year and the results are now being assembled and analysed to assist
planning the next phase of work in this area.
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Figure 9: Location of the Sabkha targets relative to the Aura Uranium
Exploration Licences
HÄGGÅN PROJECT, SWEDEN (AURA 100%)
Häggån Exploration
Three diamond drill holes totalling 570 metres were completed during the
period.
Two of the holes were within the Häggån Resource within a pattern of closely
spaced holes (100 metres x 100 metres) aimed at establishing a Measured
Resource in this area. As expected mineralised Alum Shale was intersected at
shallow depth in both holes (18 metres and 29 metres)
One hole was drilled into the Marby Permit aimed at establishing the extent of
mineralised Alum Shale in this area.
Assays for all holes are awaited.
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Figure 10: Location of drilling at Häggån
Häggån Development
The Häggån Project has an Inferred Resource of 803 million pounds of U3O8.
Scoping studies previously completed by Aura have indicated that the Häggån
Project has the potential be a very large low cost uranium producer.
Work and discussions with relevant Swedish groups continued regarding a
community engagement program for the Häggån Project.
The key aspects of the community liaison program are twofold;
· Recruitment of an appropriate representative
· Further the education and understanding of Aura's project in those areas
· Completion of an economic development study to outline the benefits of the
project in terms of direct and indirect jobs, capital outlay and broader
contribution to the local and regional economy
Aura continues to press the Häggån project as a unique and strategic energy
source in Europe which the European nuclear energy sector is beginning to
realise can play an important role as a uranium source in the future.
Aura believes Häggån is a 5-7 year proposition as a development project and is
scoping it work program around that time frame.
Häggån Polymetallic Attributes
Aura has commenced a desktop study of Häggån metal content to highlight the
significant polymetallic potential of the project and to illustrate the balance
of this base metal value of the deposit against the uranium value.
External interest has been expressed in Häggån as a polymetallic deposit and
the recent rise in the prices of the base metal suite has highlighted the shift
of Häggån to a polymetallic with uranium as opposed to mainly uranium.
The potential for base metal streaming from this deposit to aid the development
is under review and a future development focussed on the benefits of the base
metal production from Häggån. This approach allows a broader appeal of the
project in Sweden with strong industrial spin-off benefits for the local
community such as local manufacturing and valued added metal work industries.
This work will continue over 2017.
URANIUM SECTOR AND PRICE
The price of uranium has recovered from its recent lows however since the
recent improved sentiment the spot price has remained volatile. The current
price series is as follows:
· Spot Price - US$22.85 /lb
· Mid Term - US$27.25 /lb
· Long Term - US$35.00 /lb
Key points of interest to note from the uranium sector have been:
· The spot price in Aura's opinion is largely irrelevant and is a thinly
traded series not indicative of the real market
· The mid and long-term price series recovered well at the beginning of 2017
and despite the volatility in the spot price both the mid and long price series
have remained stable
· The stability in these series is indicative of building interest in
utilities looking to fix material on term contracts
· Over the next 2-3 years, many of the long-term supply contracts will
expire requiring renegotiation at prices unlikely to be done at current midterm
or long-term pricing
A key point worth repeating and highlighting is the lack of term contracting in
2013, 14 and 15 as shown in the chart below. This remains a key risk for
utilities going forward and will need to be filled at some stage. This
contracting phase will strongly impact the Long-Term price as evidenced in the
chart below between 2004 and 2007.
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Figure 11: Spot vs Long Term pricing
CORPORATE
Strategy Update
Aura's clear strategy was again outlined in a recent Hong Kong Conference and
is restated here and is as follows;
- Tiris Uranium Project into production 2018/19
- Gold and base metals exploration to bridge Tiris development phase
- Success in gold and metals exploration to assist Tiris development
funding
- Häggån Uranium Project study work over next 2 years
- Potential to create significant uranium price option value
- All against the background of rising uranium price 2018 and beyond
- Aura's Position in 2019/20;
- Cashflow from Tiris as uranium price recovers
- Exploration success aiding funding and growth
- Create new gold/ base metal projects
- Häggån work program adds significant asset value
Conversion of Options - Gold Exploration Funding
A key group of shareholders have opted for early exercise of unlisted options
unlocking $1.84M for the company which will be dedicated to the exploration of
these gold and base metal prospects. As such this exploration project is now
well funded and the company will soon begin an aggressive drilling program.
Unmarketable Parcel Sale Process
Aura instituted a Sale Facility for shareholders who hold unmarketable parcels
of shares in the Company.
Under ASX Listing Rules an unmarketable parcel is defined as:
(i) a shareholding with a market value of less than A$500, and therefore
(ii) any shareholding of 13,513 shares or less based on the closing share price
of 3.7 cents on the Record Date (6 February 2017) is an unmarketable parcel
The Company has 528 shareholders with unmarketable parcels with the total
number of shares impacted being 2,715,812. These shares will be sold shortly.
Aura Energy Directory
ASX Code: AEE
AIM Code: AURA
Shares on issue: 716,401,571
Options on issue: 185,643,069
Board of Directors:
Peter Reeve Executive Chairman
Bob Beeson Non-Executive Board Member
Brett Fraser Non-Executive Board Member
Jules Perkins Non-Executive Board Member
Website: www.auraenergy.com.au
For further information contact:
Aura Energy Limited Telephone: +61 (3) 9516 6500
Peter Reeve (Executive Chairman and Email: info@auraenergy.com.au
CEO)
WH Ireland Limited Telephone: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
Adrian Hadden
James Bavister
Yellow Jersey PR Limited Telephone:
Felicity Winkles +44 (0) 7748 843 871
Joe Burgess +44 (0) 7769 325 254
Competent Persons
The Competent Person for the Tiris Metallurgical Testwork is Dr Will Goodall.
The information in the report to which this statement is attached that relates
to the testwork is based on information compiled by Dr Will Goodall. Dr
Goodall has sufficient experience that is relevant to the testwork program and
to the activity which he is undertaking. This qualifies Dr Goodall as a
Competent Personas defined in the 2012 edition of the 'Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Dr
Goodall is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
(AusIMM). Dr Goodall consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters
based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
The Competent Person for the Tiris and Häggån Resources is Mr Neil Clifford.
The information in the report to which this statement is attached that relates
to the resource is based on information compiled by Mr Neil Clifford. Mr
Clifford has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity
which he is undertaking. This qualifies Mr Clifford as a Competent Person as
defined in the 2012 edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of
Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr Clifford is a
Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Mr
Clifford consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his
information in the form and context in which it appears.
Top 20 Shareholders 26 April 2017
Rank Name Units % of Units
1. COMPUTERSHARE CLEARING PTY LTD <CCNL DI A/ 245,012,306 30.90
C>
2. HSBC CUSTODY NOMINEES (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 98,750,518 12.46
3. CITICORP NOMINEES PTY LIMITED 64,094,142 8.08
4. PRE-EMPTIVE TRADING PTY LTD 36,250,000 4.57
5. SAMBOLD PTY LTD <SUNSHINE SUPER FUND A/C> 15,364,895 1.94
6. BNP PARIBAS NOMINEES PTY LTD <IB AU NOMS 13,939,258 1.76
RETAILCLIENT DRP>
7. PASAGEAN PTY LIMITED 13,094,558 1.65
8. MR MARTY HENG LAU 10,000,000 1.26
9. MR PETER DESMOND REEVE 9,718,304 1.23
10. BUSHELL NOMINEES PTY LTD <BUSHELL SUPER 6,292,542 0.79
FUND A/C>
11. MR PIETER HOEKSTRA + MRS RUTH HOEKSTRA 5,300,000 0.67
<HOEKSTRA SUPER FUND A/C>
12. YARANDI INVESTMENTS PTY LTD <GRIFFITH 4,754,793 0.60
FAMILY NO 2 A/C>
13. MS MICHELLE ANNE PAINE 4,700,000 0.59
14. MRS KERRYN PATRICIA DELEN 4,358,840 0.55
15. MS CHUI YING CHAN 3,600,000 0.45
16. MR LUKE PETER DALE + MRS MARIEANNE ERIKA 3,496,659 0.44
DALE
17. M & K KORKIDAS PTY LTD <M&K KORKIDAS P/L S/ 3,400,000 0.43
FUND A/C>
18. MR HENDRIK JACOBUS DELEN + MRS KERRYN 3,179,142 0.40
PATRICIA DELEN <DELEN FAMILY SUPERFUND A/C>
19. DR ROBERT BEESON 3,129,071 0.39
20. MRS JENNY LEE BUSHELL 3,091,182 0.39
69.57
Total Top 20 Shareholders 551,526,210
Remaining Shareholders 241,281,914 30.43
GRAND TOTAL 792,808,124 100.00
Top 20 Shareholders 30 January 2017
Rank Name Units % of Units
1. COMPUTERSHARE CLEARING PTY LTD <CCNL DI A/C> 263,692,309 36.81
2. BNP PARIBAS NOMINEES PTY LTD <ALBERT FRIED 59,514,268 8.31
CUSTOMER DRP>
3. HSBC CUSTODY NOMINEES (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 58,785,060 8.21
4. PRE-EMPTIVE TRADING PTY LTD 35,900,000 5.01
5. ABN AMRO CLEARING SYDNEY NOMINEES PTY LTD 14,063,092 1.96
<CUSTODIAN A/C>
6. SAMBOLD PTY LTD <SUNSHINE SUPER FUND A/C> 13,764,895 1.92
7. PASAGEAN PTY LIMITED 12,313,946 1.72
8. MR PETER DESMOND REEVE 9,718,304 1.36
9. MR MICHAEL BUSHELL 5,474,903 0.76
10. CITICORP NOMINEES PTY LIMITED 5,296,852 0.74
11. MR PIETER HOEKSTRA + MRS RUTH HOEKSTRA 4,800,000 0.67
<HOEKSTRA SUPER FUND A/C>
12. YARANDI INVESTMENTS PTY LTD <GRIFFITH FAMILY 4,754,793 0.66
NO 2 A/C>
13. MS MICHELLE ANNE PAINE 4,150,000 0.58
14. MRS KERRYN PATRICIA DELEN 3,333,840 0.47
15. MRS LINDA YE + MR DAVID XIAO DONG YE 3,160,000 0.44
16. DR ROBERT BEESON 3,129,071 0.44
17. MRS JENNY LEE BUSHELL 3,091,182 0.43
18. MR PETER ROBERT OTTON + MRS CAROLE ANNE OTTON 3,000,000 0.42
<OTTON SUPER FUND A/C>
19. MR HENDRIK JACOBUS DELEN + MRS KERRYN 2,914,492 0.41
PATRICIA DELEN <DELEN FAMILY SUPERFUND A/C>
20. MR JULIAN CHRISTOPHER PERKINS + MS MARGARET 2,861,990 0.40
SU-PING FONG <FONG SUPER FUND A/C>
Total Top 20 Shareholders 513,718,997 71.71
Remaining Shareholders 202,682,574 28.29
GRAND TOTAL 716,401,571 100.00
About Aura Energy's Projects
Tiris Project, MAURITANIA (Aura 100%)
The Tiris Uranium Project is based on a major greenfields uranium discovery in
Mauritania, with 49 Mlb U3O8 in current resources(1) from 66 million tonnes @
334 ppm U3O8. The project has several natural attributes which result in low
capital and operating costs. These attributes are:
· Shallow flat-lying surface mineralisation (only 1-5 metres deep) within
unconsolidated gravels
· Low cost mining with no blasting and negligible overburden
· Uranium ore can be simply (wash and screen) upgraded by up to 700%; from
335 ppm to 2500ppm
· Leads to a very small plant, small footprint and minimal supporting
infrastructure
· Leach feed grade 2,000-2,500 ppm U3O8 with 94% leaching recovery in 4
hours
The conceptual 1 Mtpa mine and plant project described in the Scoping Study(2)
was designed to take full advantage of these unusual characteristics, whilst
providing a low capital cost and rapid project development and construction.
Significantly, a water study by Golders has indicated that potential sources of
water in the immediate vicinity will satisfy the demands of the project.
The Study, which indicates 11 million pounds of uranium will be produced over
an initial mine life of 15 years, only utilises 20% of the known Global Mineral
Resource resulted in the following outputs;
· Low capital cost - US$45 million
· Low operating cost - A$30/lb
· Easily scalable
· Mining at 120 tph (1.0 Mtpa)
· Small 25 tph leach facility
· Mined grade >420ppm U3O8 for 15 years
· Produce 0.7-1.1 Mlbs U3O8 per year
· Expand project from cashflow
HÄGGÅN PROJECT, SWEDEN (AURA 100%)
Häggån is located in central Sweden and is one of the largest undeveloped
uranium projects in the world. The project has a resource of 803 million pounds
(3) uranium with significant base metal by-products.
Sweden remains a nuclear friendly jurisdiction with 10 operating nuclear power
reactors. In 2013, Sweden generated 152.5 TWh, of which 65.8 TWh (43%) was from
nuclear and 61.3 TWh (40%) from hydro. Sweden imports most of its nuclear fuel,
including all enrichment. It is one of the few countries that has the
opportunity, within its sovereign borders, to be vertically integrated from
nuclear power generation down to the U3O8 fuel source. Public opinion polls in
the last few years had shown steady majority (over two-thirds) support for
nuclear power(4).
The Häggån project is located in a sparsely populated area of swamp and forest
used mainly for commercial forestry. Sweden's has a current and active mining
industry, with a clear regulatory position and a well-established path from
exploration to production.
A Scoping Study(5) suggests that the Häggån Project has excellent potential to
become a major, low cost producer of uranium, with by-product nickel and other
metals. Aura's discovery that the mineralisation is ideally suited to bioleach
metal extraction was the major breakthrough to creating a robust and economic
project. Bioleaching, including bioheap leaching, is a proven technology widely
used in copper and gold industries with some application to the uranium
industry.
The Häggån Inferred Resource contains 2.35 billion tonnes at the grades shown
in the table below. Metal content is also shown.
Metal Grade Content
(ppm) (Mlbs)
U3O8 155 803
Ni 316 1640
Zn 431 2230
Mo 207 1070
V 1519 7870
The project contemplated in the Scoping Study was a large-scale heap leach with
recovery of base metals as separate and high purity sulphide precipitates. The
Scoping Study outcomes were as follows;
· Capital cost - US$540 million
· Low operating cost - A$13.50/lb U3O8
· Mining rate 30 Mtpa
· Mined grade 160 ppm U3O8 for 30 years
· Production 7.8 Mlbs U3O8 per year
NOTES TO PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
(1) There is a low level of geological confidence associated with inferred
mineral resource and there is no certainty that further exploration work will
result in the determination of indicated measured resource or that the
production target will be realised.
(2) The Company released to the ASX the Tiris Project Scoping Study on 16
July 2014 and the Company believes that no material change to forecast capital
and operating costs and forecast production rates have occurred since the
release.
(3) There is a low level of geological confidence associated with inferred
mineral resource and there is no certainty that further exploration work will
result in the determination of indicated measured resource or that the
production target will be realised.
(4) http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-O-S/Sweden
(5) The Company released to the ASX the Haggan Project Scoping Study on 7
February 2012 and an updated study on 29 May 2014. The Company believes no
material change to forecast capital and operating costs and forecast production
rates have occurred since the releases.
END
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