AURA ENERGY LIMITED COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS IN MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS August 2016
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Microsoft Word - Aura Energy CPR Final V2.0_160803AURA ENERGY
LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
August 2016
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
2.1 Terms of Reference and Scope of
Works..........................................................................17
2.2 Sources of Information and Data
.....................................................................................17
2.3 Field Involvement of Competent
Person..........................................................................17
3 RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS
............................................................................................18
4 MAURITANIAN ASSETS
.......................................................................................................19
4.3
History...........................................................................................................................30
4.7
Exploration.....................................................................................................................45
4.13 Other Aura Exploration Projects in
Mauritania.............................................................109
5 MINERAL RESOURCES - MAURITANIA
...............................................................................118
5.3 Down Hole
Surveys.......................................................................................................119
5.9 Block Model
Parameters...............................................................................................126
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
5.19 Reported Mineral
Resources.......................................................................................135
6 SWEDISH
ASSETS..............................................................................................................139
6.1 Property
Location.........................................................................................................139
6.3
History.........................................................................................................................147
6.7 Exploration on the Aura
Licences...................................................................................161
6.8 Data Verification by WAI
...............................................................................................175
7 MINERAL RESOURCES - SWEDEN
......................................................................................178
7.3 Down Hole
Surveys.......................................................................................................179
7.15 Reported Mineral
Resources.......................................................................................195
7.16 Exploration Results
....................................................................................................196
8 PROCESSING
....................................................................................................................199
8.1 Introduction
Mauritania................................................................................................199
8.2 Introduction
Sweden....................................................................................................213
9 MINING
...........................................................................................................................218
9.1 Mauritania
...................................................................................................................218
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
13
GLOSSARY........................................................................................................................238
TABLES
Table 4.3: Aura Energy Exploration Expenditure
Requirements......................................................25
Table 4.4: Types of Uranium Occurrences in
Mauritania................................................................33
Table 4.5: Uranium Depositional
Environments............................................................................36
Table 4.8: Summary of Drilling by Type and Campaign.
.................................................................50
Table 4.9: Summary of Drilling by Location (see Figure
4.15).........................................................51
Table 4.10: Forte Energy Grab Sample Results from Hassi Baida
....................................................79
Table 4.11: Number of Raw Data
.................................................................................................84
Table 4.12: List of Certified Reference
Materials...........................................................................96
Table 5.1: 2011 Mineral Resource Domain
Coding......................................................................122
Table 5.2: 2011 Mineral Resource
Top-Cuts................................................................................124
Table 5.3: Reguibat Uranium Project Search Parameters (Coffey,
2011).......................................127
Table 5.4: Reguibat Uranium Project, Global Grade Comparison by
Domain.................................131
Table 5.5: Aura Energy Reguibat Uranium Project,
Mauritania.....................................................136
Table 5.6: Aura Energy Reguibat Uranium Project,
Mauritania,....................................................137
Table 6.1: Claim
Details.............................................................................................................141
Table 6.2: History of Mining and Exploration of the Alum
Shale...................................................147
Table 6.3: CPM’s Exploration of the Alum
Shale..........................................................................148
Table 6.4: CPM Resource Estimate September 10
(2010).............................................................148
Table 6.5: Uranium Depositional
Environments..........................................................................157
Table 6.8: Aura Announcement as at March
2015.......................................................................164
Table 6.9: Average Assays of Low Calcium Alum Shale
................................................................173
Table 7.1: Häggån and Marby Uranium Project Search
Parameters..............................................186
Table 7.2: Häggån Uranium Project, Global Grade
Comparison....................................................191
Table 7.3: Mineral Resource Summary Häggån Uranium Project,
Sweden....................................196
Table 7.4: Mineral Resource Summary Marby Uranium Project,
Sweden......................................196
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
Table 8.2: Scrubbing/Screening Results for -75µm
Fraction.........................................................202
Table 8.3: Reguibat Ore C 4-5 Modal Mineralogy by QEMSCAN
...................................................205
Table 8.4: AMML Laboratories Head Assays
...............................................................................208
Table 8.5: AMML POD Samples QEMSCAN Analysis
....................................................................209
Table 8.6: Samples Used in Nagrom Laboratories
Testwork.........................................................212
Table 8.7: Incremental NPVs for each Processing
Option.............................................................214
Table 10.1: Aura Energy Reguibat Uranium Project,
Mauritania...................................................224
Table 10.2: Aura Energy Reguibat Uranium Project, Mauritania,
Lazare North (Domains 4 & 5).....225
Table 10.3: Mineral Resource Summary Häggån Uranium Project,
Sweden..................................228
Table 10.4: Mineral Resource Summary Marby Uranium Project,
Sweden....................................228
Table 10.5: Summary of Aura Resources by Status at 100ppm U3O8
Cut-Off Grade .......................231
FIGURES
Figure 4.3: Temperature and Precipitation Régime for Bir
Moghrein..............................................27
Figure 4.4: Topography of the Reguibat Exploration Area
Showing................................................29
Figure 4.5: Geology of Northern Mauritania Based on the
BGS/BRGM/USGS Mapping....................30
Figure 4.6: Airborne Radiometric Map of Part of North-Eastern
Mauritania ...................................31
Figure 4.7: Geological Provinces of Mauritania Showing Uranium
Exploration Licence Areas...........32
Figure 4.8: Uranium Projects and Occurrences in the Eburnean of the
Reguibat Shield ...................33
Figure 4.9: Major Crustal Subdivisions of Northern
Africa..............................................................34
Figure 4.10: Grade/Tonnage Diagram for World Uranium
Deposits................................................37
Figure 4.11: Uranium Occurrences of Northern Mauritania on Landsat
Image Base ........................38
Figure 4.12: Relative Location of the Tiris East and Tiris West
Areas...............................................39
Figure 4.13: Excerpt from an Aura Media Release
2008.................................................................45
Figure 4.14: Radiometric Compilation of the Eastern Tiris
Block.....................................................46
Figure 4.15: Location of Drill Targets (to Accompany Table 4.5 and
Table 4.6)................................51
Figure 4.16: The Hippolyte Group of Ore
Pods..............................................................................53
Figure 4.17: The Hippolyte Group of Ore Pods Showing the Borehole
Positions..............................54
Figure 4.18: Hippolyte Ore Pod 1
Showing....................................................................................55
Figure 4.19: Central Portion of Hippolyte Ore Pod 1
Showing........................................................56
Figure 4.20: Image of the Sadi Section of the Ain Sder
Licence:......................................................58
Figure 4.21: Radiometric Image and Drill Pattern, Sadi Ore
Pods....................................................59
Figure 4.22: Sadi North Ore Pod Showing Tracks Left during the
Drilling Programmes.....................60
Figure 4.23: Sadi South Ore Pods Showing Track of site visit by WAI
..............................................61
Figure 4.24: Drill Pattern at Sadi
South.........................................................................................61
Figure 4.25: Sadi South Showing Potential Extension and Drill
Intercepts.......................................62
Figure 4.26: The Lazare Pods
.......................................................................................................63
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
Figure 4.27: Radiometric Anomalies and the Lazare Wire Frame
Resource Blocks...........................64
Figure 4.28: Image of Lazare North Ore Pods Showing Drill
Patternand Wireframe of the Resource65
Figure 4.29: Plan of Grade Distribution (U3O8) of Lazare North Ore
Pods........................................65
Figure 4.30: Lazare North (Main) Ore Classification after Mapeto
(2014)........................................66
Figure 4.31: Disposition of Ore Pods at Lazare
South.....................................................................67
Figure 4.32: Close up View of the Southern End of the Lazare South
Ore Pod Showing:...................68
Figure 4.33: Airborne Radiometric Anomalies on Hippolyte Sud
Showing:......................................70
Figure 4.34: Magnetic Image Showing the Various Hippolyte Projects
and their .............................71
Figure 4.35: Radiometric Map of the Oum Ferkik
Licences.............................................................72
Figure 4.36: Image of the Northern Oum Ferkik Licence Showing the
Two Anomalous Zones ..........73
Figure 4.37: Ferkik West and Ferkik East – Drill Patterns
...............................................................74
Figure 4.38: Aura’s Land Holdings in Northern
Mauritania.............................................................75
Figure 4.39: Radiometric Map of the Ain Sder/Oued El Merre Region
Showing:..............................76
Figure 4.40: Image of Oued El
Merre............................................................................................76
Figure 4.41: Geological Map of the Aguelet Area
..........................................................................77
Figure 4.42: Radiometric Map of the Aguelet Licence
Area............................................................78
Figure 4.43: Pitting/Sampling on the Main Radiometric Anomaly on
Aguelet..................................79
Figure 4.44: The Radiometric Anomaly of Agouyame
....................................................................80
Figure 4.45: Image of the Agouyame Licence Showing Wire Frames of
the Resource Blocks............81
Figure 4.46: Quality Control Plots of Historical Field Duplicates
by U-XRF05 ...................................86
Figure 4.47: Quality Control Plots of Field Duplicates by Stewart
by BF/XRF ...................................87
Figure 4.48: Quality Control Plots of Field Duplicates by Stewart
by XRF-PP/U................................88
Figure 4.49: Quality Control Plots of Field Duplicates by ALS by
U-XRF05........................................89
Figure 4.50: Quality Control Plots of Pulp Duplicates by Stewart by
BF/XRF....................................91
Figure 4.51: Quality Control Plots of Pulp Duplicates by Stewart by
XRF-PP/U ................................92
Figure 4.52: Quality Control Plots of Pulp Duplicates by Stewart by
U-XRF05..................................93
Figure 4.53: Quality Control Plots of Blanks, Stewart by XRF
Method.............................................94
Figure 4.54: Quality Control Plots of Blanks, ALS by XRF Method
...................................................95
Figure 4.55: AMIS
0055...............................................................................................................97
Figure 4.56: AMIS
0086...............................................................................................................98
Figure 4.57: AMIS
0090...............................................................................................................98
Figure 4.58: AMIS
0091...............................................................................................................99
Figure 4.59: AMIS
0092...............................................................................................................99
Figure 4.60: AMIS
0114.............................................................................................................100
Figure 4.69: UTS-3
....................................................................................................................104
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
Figure 4.70: UTS-4
....................................................................................................................105
Figure 4.71: Quality Control Plots of Check Assays, Stewart vs ALS
by BF XRF vs XRF05 .................106
Figure 4.72: Quality Control Plots of Check Assays, Stewart vs ALS
by XRF-PP/U vs ME XRF05 .......107
Figure 4.73: Location of the Sabkha relative to the Aura Uranium
Exploration Licences ................109
Figure 4.74: Satellite Image of the Sabkha (outlined in
yellow)....................................................110
Figure 4.75: Physiographic/DEM Map of the
Sabkha...................................................................111
Figure 4.76: North-west Africa showing the West African Shield and
the Dorsale Reguibat ...........112
Figure 4.77: Regional Geological Map of the Tasiast Area (USGS,
2004) showing: .........................113
Figure 4.78: Drake’s Regional Interpretation of the Airborne
Magnetic Survey.............................114
Figure 4.79: Anomalous Gold in Air Core Traverses
Showing:.......................................................115
Figure 4.80: Zones of Gold-Mineralised Sulphide Alteration at
Drake’s Ghassariat Prospect; .........116
Figure 4.81: Schematic Section through the Alteration
Halo........................................................117
Figure 5.1: Reguibat Uranium Project – Log Probability Plot, All
Samples .....................................120
Figure 5.2: Reguibat Uranium Project – Log Histogram Plot, All
Samples ......................................121
Figure 5.3: Average Sample
Length............................................................................................123
Figure 5.4: GEOCODE 12, Log Variogram Major Axis (170°), WAI 2016
.........................................125
Figure 5.5: GEOCODE 12, Log Variogram Semi-Major Axis (080°), WAI
2016.................................125
Figure 5.6: Geostatistical Cross Drilling at Hippolyte (x5 Vertical
Exaggeration).............................126
Figure 5.7: Domain GEOCODE 12, Cross Section Showing Grade
Smearing...................................128
Figure 5.8: Plan View of Estimated Grade Validation, Lazare
South..............................................129
Figure 5.9: Eastings Cross Sectional View of Estimated Grade
Validation, Lazare South.................130
Figure 5.10: Eastings Cross Sectional View of Estimated Grade
Validation, Lazare South ...............130
Figure 5.11: Lazare South, GEOCODE 1, Easting and Northing Swath
Plots....................................132
Figure 5.12: Ferkik, Easting and Northing Swath
Plots.................................................................132
Figure 5.13: Lazare North, GEOCODE 4 (2014), Eastingand Northing
Swath Plots.........................132
Figure 5.14: Lazare North, GEOCODE 4, Mineral Resource
Classification Plan ...............................134
Figure 6.1: Location of the Häggån Project
.................................................................................139
Figure 6.2: Location of the Aura Häggån Project Exploration Permits
...........................................140
Figure 6.3: Temperature Régime for
Östersund..........................................................................144
Figure 6.4: Precipitation Régime for
Östersund...........................................................................144
Figure 6.5: Topography of the Häggån Exploration Permits
.........................................................146
Figure 6.6: Fennoscandia and its Location within the East European
Craton.................................150
Figure 6.7: Occurrence of the Alum Shale in the Caledonides of
Sweden......................................151
Figure 6.8: Generalised Cross Section through the Thrust Zone of
the Caledonian Front ...............152
Figure 6.9: Schematic Cross Section through the Aura/CPM Permit
Area......................................153
Figure 6.10: SGU Geological (Bedrock) Map of the Östersund
Region...........................................153
Figure 6.11: Uranium Channel Ground Radiometric Map of the Aura/CPM
Ground......................154
Figure 6.12: Topographic Map of Häggån No.1 Licence
showing:.................................................155
Figure 6.13: Grade/Tonnage Diagram for World Uranium
Deposits..............................................158
Figure 6.14: Section through the Aura Licence Showing Strong
Uranium Mineralisation................159
Figure 6.15: Metal Contents in the Alum Shale from a Hole Drilled
near Myrviken........................160
Figure 6.16: Cross Section (Aura 2008) through Early Holes at
Häggån.........................................162
Figure 6.17: Drill Pattern as at July
2011.....................................................................................163
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
Figure 6.19: Colour-coded Topo/DEM of
Häggån........................................................................165
Figure 6.20: Map of the Häggån Project Licences showing Borehole
Sites.....................................166
Figure 6.21: Example of the Summarised Core Logging/Assay
Details...........................................167
Figure 6.22: An Example of the Integrated Approach to the Logging,
...........................................168
Figure 6.23: Example of Radiometric Log vs. Core
Logging...........................................................169
Figure 6.24: Isopach Map of Alum Shale on Häggån No 1
............................................................170
Figure 6.25: Isopach Map of depth to the top of the Alum
Shale..................................................170
Figure 6.26: Four Interpreted Units, each with Two Subdivisions,
................................................172
Figure 6.27: Section Demonstrates the Start of the Central Thicker
Zone of Mineralisation...........173
Figure 6.28: Resource Blocks as Previously
Defined.....................................................................174
Figure 7.1: Häggån Uranium
Histogram......................................................................................181
Figure 7.2: Average Sample
Length............................................................................................182
Figure 7.4: Häggån Semi-Major Axis Variogram (115°), WAI 2016
................................................183
Figure 7.5: Häggån Minor/Down Hole Axis Variogram, WAI
2016.................................................184
Figure 7.6: Häggån QKNA Block Size Analysis, WAI
2016..............................................................185
Figure 7.7 : Häggån QKNA Sample Assessment, WAI
2016...........................................................187
Figure 7.8: Häggån QKNA Search Ellipse Assessment, WAI 2016
..................................................187
Figure 7.9: Plan View of Estimated Grade Validation at 218RL,
Häggån Project.............................189
Figure 7.10: Eastings 6,992,007 Cross Sectional View of Estimated
Grade Validation ....................190
Figure 7.11: Eastings 6,992,823 Cross Sectional View of Estimated
Grade Validation ....................190
Figure 7.12: Häggån, Uranium Easting Swath
Plot.......................................................................192
Figure 7.13: Häggån, Uranium Northing Swath Plot
....................................................................192
Figure 7.14: Häggån Mineral Resource Classification
Plan............................................................193
Figure 7.15: H & SC Marby Mineral Resource Classification
Plan..................................................194
Figure 8.1: Trench Sample
Locations..........................................................................................199
Figure 8.3: CO2, SO4 and U3O8 Profiles of Ain Sder
Ore.................................................................204
Figure 8.4: Depth Profiles of Uranium and
Vanadium..................................................................205
Figure 8.5: Uranium Extraction
Profiles......................................................................................207
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COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
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Photo 4.2: Granite/Granodiorite
Outcrop.....................................................................................40
Photo 4.3: Fracture, Foliated Pink Porphyritic
Granite...................................................................40
Photo 4.4: Remnant “Whale Back” Outcrop of Grey Granite Forming the
High Ground...................41
Photo 4.5: Line of Dunes Flanking an Outwash Plain
.....................................................................42
Photo 4.6: Intermixed Calcrete and Granitic
Material....................................................................43
Photo 4.7: Fine Grained Carnotite within Calcrete
........................................................................44
Photo 4.8: Flat Outwash
Plain......................................................................................................47
Photo 4.9: Spoil Heaps from a Pit in the Hippolyte Zone, Tiris
East.................................................49
Photo 4.10: Sample collection from the Air-Core Drill
Rig..............................................................50
Photo 4.11: Borehole Marked by a Stand Pipe – Open for Gamma
Logging ....................................56
Photo 4.12: Lazare North Project
Site...........................................................................................66
Photo 4.13: “Whale back” Outcrop of the Grey Granitoid Shown in
Photo 14.4 Below....................69
Photo 4.14: Outcrop of the Grey, Phenocrystic Granitoid
(?Granodiorite) on Lazare South..............69
Photo 6.1: Typical Vegetation – the Ground is Very
Marshy.........................................................175
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
Introduction
Wardell Armstrong International (“WAI”) was commissioned by Aura
Energy Ltd (“Aura”) to produce
a Competent Persons Report (“CPR”) for their uranium assets in
Mauritania and Sweden.
The CPR was prepared under the JORC Code for inclusion in the
admissiondocument as part of Aura
quotation on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc. WAI
has prepared this report on
completion of a site visit to the exploration licences in
Mauritania and Sweden (May 2016), during
which WAI has gathered all available data, audited and scrutinised
the explorationpractices, methods
and procedures used in recording information and interpretation of
results.
Most of the more detailed geological data and information contained
in this report has been sourced
from Aura’s exploration/evaluation work. The regional geological
data has been sourced from public
domain sources.
Mr Greg Moseley, on behalf of WAI, visited Mauritania from 11 to 16
May 2016 andSwedenfrom 18
to 20 May, 2016.
Assets and Liabilities
In terms of both Aura’s Mauritanian and Swedish assets the
properties are at an exploration stagein
their development.
Aura’s assets comprise the Mineral Licences described within the
report, whichare in good standing,
and the land access is also describedwithin the report. Aura has no
infrastructure on site, nor have
WAI observed any lasting environmental damage caused by their
exploration activities.
Given the developmental stage of the assets, no closure costs have
beendetermined, and such costs
are premature at this stage.
Property Location and Description
The eight exploration licences - collectively known as the Tiris
Project - controlled by Aura are located
in the Bir Moghrein Department of the Tiris Zemmour Region of
northern Mauritania, close to the
borders with Algeria and Western Sahara.
The access to the licences is relatively simple although they are
somewhat remote. The nearest town
with commercial flight access is Zouerate, an ironore mining
centre. From Zouerate, the Tiris licences
(s.l.) are reached via poorly defined desert tracks in
approximately 12 to 14 hours.
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
IN
MAURITANIA AND SWEDEN, AND OTHER EXPLORATION TARGETS
ZT61-1505/MM1063
Final V2.0 Page 2
The climate in Bir Moghrein is arid, with very low rainfall. The
Köppen-Geiger climate classification is
BWh. The average annual temperature is ~23°C with highs in the low
40s.
The terrain encompassing the Aura uranium projects specifically is
very flat – the result of extreme
peneplanation of the desert landscape.
Due to the remoteness of northern Mauritania, virtually no
geological mapping had beencarriedout
in the areas under discussion prior to a World Bank funded project
in the early 2000s. Very little
mining-specific exploration work was carried out in the licence
areas under discussion until Aura
initiated work in 2007.
Sweden
The five exploration licences controlled by Aura are locatedclose
to the western shore of the Storsjön
lake, one of the largest lakes in Sweden, some 25km to the
west-south-west of the city of Östersund.
The explorationpermits, known (generically) as the Häggån Project,
are approximately 450km north-
north-east of Stockholm and 160km west-north-west of the Baltic
coast at Sundsvall, see the Figure
below.
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Mauritania
The geological province of relevance to this document is the
Reguibat Shield whichunderlies most of
northern Mauritania. The eastern domain consists mainly of
Paleoproterozoic granitic and
supracrustal rocks assembled during the Eburnean Orogeny ca. 2.1Ga
and of Birimian age. Most of
the known uranium occurrences in Mauritania are located in this
part of the shield. While the better
uranium mineralisation is surficial in character, the uranium
mineralisation is largely associated with
the Eburnean age granitoids.
Sweden
The overall setting of the Aura project is illustrated in the
Figure below whichshows the Fennoscandia
shield and its component parts.
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Fennoscandia and its Location within the East European Craton
It is noted that the Aura exploration project lies on the eastern
contact of the Caledonian orogenic
belt. This is an important factor in considering the large tonnages
of mineralised Alum Shales in the
Jamtland area.
This front represents the eastern edge of a block overthrust from
the west to the east during the
Caledonian orogeny, specifically during the opening of the Iapetus
Ocean(the proto-Atlantic Ocean).
This has had the effect of causing repetition by thrusting of the
(economically significant) black shales
which constitute the mineralised body on the Aura
explorationpermits, see the Figure below.
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COMPETENT PERSONS REPORT ON THE AURA ENERGY LTD URANIUM PROJECTS
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Mauritania
carbonate and the (probable) co-precipitation of the uranium
mineral carnotite due to the rise and
fall of the ephemeral water table. This calcrete is complexly
intermingled with weathered granitic
rocks at the base of the depressions in many instances. This forms
the target for Aura’s
exploration/evaluation work.
Sweden
The mineralisation of the Alum Shale in the area investigated by
Aura, conforms with the general
description for black shale mineralisation and the shale is
enriched in various elements, some of
economic significance to the point where they become recoverable
metals and part of the value chain.
At Häggån, these elements are:
Uranium;
Molybdenum;
Nickel;
Historical Exploration and Mining
Mauritania
Very little previous mining exploration work has taken place in the
region.
Aura has made considerable use of radiometric methods, both the
available, good quality airborne
data set, and has utilised ground radiometrics. As geological
mapping is of limitedutility in this area
of extreme peneplanation, Invasive methods have had to be used in
order to evaluate the potential
of the uranium mineralisation:
Drilling – two drilling techniques have beentried on the Tiris
projects:
o Reverse circulation drilling – which was found to be not
applicable.
o Air-core drilling – has been the method of choice for the major
drill
programmes.
AURA ENERGY LIMITED
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Final V2.0 Page 6
It is clear that Aura, within the confines of the
financial/seasonal constraints, have undertakena well
thought out programme of work congruent with the type of
mineralisation on their licences.
Sweden
Aura Energy Ltd began explorationwork in2008 with the drilling of
the first two exploration drill holes
into the Alum Shale. Prior to that, various Swedish government
organs had conducted some
preliminary investigations into the uranium (and other element)
potential of the Alum Shale in the
area now controlled by Aura. This work included, inter alia:
Investigations intothe oil potential of the Alum Shales;
Radiometric surveys;
Regional geochemistry for uranium, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel and
zinc; and
The drilling of a limited number of “stratigraphic” boreholes as
part of a more general
investigation of the geology of the Caledonides in general and the
Caledonide Front
in particular (see Section7 ).
Mauritania
It is apparent that Aura have defined a considerable portfolio of
uranium occurrences in the Tiris
Project area (s.l.). These have been evaluated within the limits of
the drill density and pattern
described.
The Mineral Resources were estimated in 2011 for nine of the Aura
Energy Tiris Project licences in
Mauritania. The Mineral Resource Estimateswere carriedout
byCoffeyMiningPtyLtd. The estimates
were carriedout for:
Sadi (previously known as Ain Sder Central C);
Hippolyte (previously known as Oued El Foule Est A-G);
Ferkik (previously knownas Oum Ferkik L & K);
Tenebdar;
Aguelt Essfaya;
Saabia; and
Fai Est.
In March 2014 a Mineral Resource update was completed for Lazare
North based on additional infill
air core drilling carried out at Lazare North in 2012. The 2014
estimate was carriedout by Mr Oliver
Mapeto, an independent consultant resource geologist.
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With the exception of the infill drilling at Lazare North in 2012,
no additional exploration or mining
activities have taken place at the Tiris Project. WAI is therefore
of the opinionthat there have been
no material changes since the 2011 estimates, with the exception of
the Lazare North 2014 estimate,
therefore the Mineral Resources remain as previously
reported.
WAI has reviewed the Mineral Resource block models, sample
databases and accompanying reports.
The review has looked at the quality of the sample data, the
geological interpretation of
mineralisation, geological continuity, domaining, top-cutting,
compositing, variography and grade
continuity, estimation methods, and Mineral Resource
classifications. Estimation methods follow
standard industry practice, and are basedon air core and reverse
circulation drilling.
WAI is of the opinion that the Mineral Resources previously
reported for the Tiris Project are of a
suitablestandardforreporting. Mineral Resources forLazareSouth,
Sadi,Hippolyte,Ferkik, Tenebdar,
and Aguelt Essfaya, remainas reported by Coffey in 2011 under the
JORC Code (2004) guidelines. WAI
is of the opinion that no material changes have occurred at these
projects since the 2011 estimates
and that the Mineral Resource reported under the JORC Code (2004)
are still valid. The Table below
summarises the Mineral Resources at the Tiris Project, excluding
the Lazare Northarea.
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Aura Energy Tiris Uranium Project, Mauritania July 12th 2011
Mineral Resource Estimate (After Coffey, 2011)
Project Category Lower Cut-off
200 9.6 350 3.4 7.5 250 8.0 380 3.0 6.7
300 5.8 420 2.4 5.3
Sadi (Domains 6-11) Inferred
100 8.6 330 2.8 6.2 150 8.2 330 2.7 6.1
200 7.3 350 2.6 5.7
250 6.0 380 2.3 5.1 300 4.1 430 1.8 3.9
Hippolyte (Domains 12-19)
200 15.8 390 6.0 13.3 250 13.9 410 5.6 12.3
300 11.5 430 4.9 10.9
Hippolyte (Domains 20-23)
100 6.3 300 1.9 4.2 150 6.2 310 1.9 4.1
200 5.5 320 1.8 3.9
250 3.5 370 1.3 2.9
300 2.2 430 1.0 2.1
Ferkik (Domain 26) Inferred
200 11.2 340 3.8 8.5 250 9.1 370 3.4 7.5
300 6.7 400 2.7 6.0
Ferkik (Domain 27 & 28)
150 4.1 250 1.0 2.3 200 2.8 280 0.8 1.7
250 1.6 330 0.5 1.2
300 0.9 370 0.3 0.8
Tenebdar (Domains 24 & 25)
200 1.4 240 0.3 0.7 250 0.4 270 0.1 0.2
Aguelt Essfaya (Domain 29)
Note:
1. Assumed bulk density of 2.0t/m³ has been used.
2. No material changes have occurred since the reporting of the
Mineral Resources in 2011, therefore the Mineral Resources
remain valid under the previous JORC Code (2004).
3. Mineral Resources are reported at a minimum cut-off grade of
100ppm UO which approximates an economic cut-off grade,
however, the Mineral Resources are not constrained by a pit
optimisation.
The Table below summarises the updatedMineral Resources for the
Lazare North area as estimated
by Mr Oliver Mapeto, as of 28th March 2014. The Mineral Resources
reported includes the Lazare
North, GEOCODE 5 domain, which remained unchanged since its initial
estimate as part of the Coffey
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2011 estimation works, in addition to the updated Lazare North,
GEOCODE 4 domain, which was
updated based on additional drilling carried out in 2012.
Aura Energy Tiris Uranium Project, Mauritania, Lazare North
(Domains 4 & 5) March 28th 2014 Mineral Resource Estimate
(Mapeto, 2014)
Project Category
Indicated
250 1.4 351 0.5 1.1 300 0.9 389 0.4 0.8
Lazare North (Domains 4 & 5
Inferred
100 5.3 364 1.9 4.3 150 5.3 365 1.9 4.3
200 5.0 375 1.9 4.1
250 3.6 433 1.6 3.4
300 2.8 482 1.3 2.9 Note:
1. Assumed bulk density of 2.0t/m3 has been used.
2. The reported Mineral Resources include the previous 2011 Mineral
Resource estimate for Lazare North, GEOCODE 5, in addition
to the 2014 updated Lazare North GEOCODE 4 which incorporates the
additional 2012 drilling.
3. Mineral Resources are reported at a minimum cut-off grade of
100ppm UO which approximates an economic cut-off grade,
however, the Mineral Resources are not constrained by a pit
optimisation.
The “Reguibat Uranium Project – Ain Sder J Prospect Resource
Update” (Mapeto, 2014) document
provided to WAI references the JORC Code (2004). The JORC Code
transitioned from the 2004 code
to the 2012 code in December 2013, therefore the Mapeto, 2014,
estimate should be reported as
being in accordance with the JORC Code (2012). It is unclear
whether the reference to the JORC Code
(2004) is a typographical error.
Sweden
Aura Energy have two uranium projects in Sweden, these being the
Häggån andMarby projects. In
August 2012, H & SC Consultants Pty Ltd (H & SC) produceda
Mineral Resource update for the Häggån
and Marby projects. Grade estimates were carried out for uranium,
molybdenum, nickel, vanadium,
and zinc hosted within the alum shale unit. The 2012 Mineral
Resource Estimate built uponprevious
estimates produced for the projects by H & SC in August 2011,
and October 2010.
The grade estimates at Häggån and Marby are based on diamond
drilling, with 66 holes drilled at
Häggån and 10 holes drilled at Marby. As with the Aura Energy Tiris
Project, Mineral Resource
estimates in Mauritania, WAI has carried out a review of the sample
data, block models, and
accompanying reports.
Uranium mineralisation at the Swedish projects is hosted in the
Alum Shale unit. For the geological
interpretation H & SC has used the geological logging to model
the Alum Shale, with the wireframe
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used to select the sample data and constrain the Mineral Resource
Estimates. Grades in the alum
shale unit display a normal distribution. Grade continuity is well
defined from variography down hole,
and to a lesser extent in the horizontal plane, limited by the
drill hole spacing. Possible ranges in the
horizontal plane shown by variography is in the 600-800m range,
given the normal grade distribution
of the mineralisation WAI suspects that a 600-800m range may be
valid.
WAI is of the opinion that the Mineral Resources estimatedand
reported for the Häggån project by H
& SC in 2012, to be of a sufficient standard for reporting. The
estimation methodology follows
standard industry practice, with estimates basedon diamond core
drilling with assaying by Delayed
Neutron Counting or mixed acid digestion Inductively CoupledPlasma
Mass Spectrometry.
Mineral Resources for Häggån and Marby, remain as reported by H
& SC in 2012 under the JORC Code
(2004) guidelines. WAI is of the opinion that no material changes
have occurred at the project since
the 2012 estimate and that the Mineral Resource reported under the
JORC Code (2004) is still valid.
The tables below summarise the Mineral Resources at the Häggånand
Marby projects respectively.
Mineral Resource Summary Häggån Uranium Project, Sweden August 10th
2012 Mineral Resource Estimate (H & SC, 2012)
Project Category
100 2.15 157 209 1551 388 492 338 745
120 2.06 159 212 1574 364 480 328 723
140 1.69 165 220 1654 340 458 279 615
160 0.94 177 238 1775 327 443 166 366 180 0.31 192 260 1861 322 438
60 132
Mineral Resource Summary Marby Uranium Project, Sweden August 10th
2012 Mineral Resource Estimate (H & SC, 2012)
Project Category
Lower Cut-off
(ppm U3O8)
Contained U3O8
(Mkg) (Mlb)
Marby Inferred
100 0.20 136 185 1170 249 353 27.20 59.95 120 0.16 144 195 1251 263
384 23.04 50.78
140 0.09 153 210 1276 272 406 13.77 30.35
160 0.02 167 224 1485 306 452 3.34 7.36 180 0.001 182 261 1932 382
621 0.18 0.40
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Summary of Aura Resources
A summary of the combined Resource is presented in the table
below.
Summary of Aura Resources by Status at 100ppm U3O8 Cut-Off
Grade
Category
Inferred 66.5 332 48.6 66.5 332 48.6
Sub-Total 68.7 331 50.1 68.7 331 50.1
Häggån Uranium Project - Sweden
Marby Uranium Project - Sweden
TOTAL 2,419 160 885 2,419 160 885 Aura
Metallurgy
Mauritania
Metallurgical testing on material from the Tiris project,
Mauritania, has utilised trench/pit samples
from the Hippolyte andSadi resources.
Testing undertaken between 2012 and 2016 focussedon:
Attritioning;
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The main conclusions drawn were:
QEMSCAN analysis identified the main minerals present to be quartz
(34.5%),
plagioclase (24.6%) and K-feldspar (22.4%), with lesser quantities
of muscovite,
various clay minerals and biotite;
The predominant uranium mineral was identified as carnotite
(s.l.)
The carnotite was mostly fine-grained (<5µm), andoccurred in
associationwith finely
particulate micaceous clays. Initial examination suggestedthat it
was poorly liberated
but later test work showed that the carnotite is easily
concentrated by physical means
which allows for several options in the further processing to
yellow cake.
In general, gypsum content was enriched in the coarser fractions,
while uranium was
concentrated in the finer fractions.
Water leach testing showed that gypsum dissolution was rapid
upuntil saturation and
that gypsum-saturated water inhibited celestine dissolution.
Therefore, in order to
maximise gypsum and celestine rejection by dissolution it would be
necessary to
continuously feed fresh, gypsum-free water into the scrubbing
circuit;
That, without further size-reduction, the uranium concentration
could be upgraded
to >900ppm U3O8 relative to mass when screenedto -300µm;
That, without further size-reduction, the uranium concentration
could be upgraded
to >1,500ppm U3O8 relative to mass when screened to -75µm;
and
That >90%of the uraniumpresentinthe
upgraded-300µmfractioncouldbe extracted
using a sodium carbonate leach in less than 24 hours.
WAI is of the opinion that, within the limits of the test work
described in this report, no fatal flaws
have been identified. However, the following work is required to
advance the project to Feasibility
Study level:
Further mineralogy in order to confirm the exact nature of the
uranium minerals;
Leach testing on a wider variety of samples taken from throughout
the deposit in
order to ensure that similarly high uranium extractions can be
achieved andto assess
the impact of ore variability on reagent consumption; and
A thorough rheological study into the effect of clays in leachand
tailings slurries.
Sweden
WAI has reviewed a number of reports and test work relating to the
Sweden projects including a
techno-economic assessment that was undertaken on the
Häggånproject, a low-grade U, Mo, Ni, V,
Zn project, which investigated three conceptual processing
options:
Acid agitated tank leach;
Bacterial heap leach.
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The techno-economic assessment identifiedthe bacterial heap leach
processing option as returning
the highest NPV. Considering uranium extraction alone, the
bacterial heap leach option was the only
processing route that returned a positive NPV. When also
considering nickel and molybdenum, the
total project value for the 17Mtpa bacterial heap leachwas US$766M,
increasing to US$1,362M when
the size of the operation was increased to 30Mtpa. Including
vanadium extraction in the calculations
always resulted ina negative NPV.
The key conclusions drawn from the test work reviewed by WAI are as
follows:
The predominant mineralspresent werequartz, muscovite, organic
carbon, pyrite and
calcite;
Uranium was present in two phases, as discrete grains of a
U-Ti-silicate mineral and
as fine uraniumassociated withorganic carbonand pyrite;
Pyrite was a host for uranium, nickel and molybdenum;
Vanadium was entirely associated with roscoelite (a muscovite
mineral);
Calcite was the only acid-forming mineral present;
The mineralised “black shale” zone contained mostly organic carbon,
pyrite and
muscovite, as well as the valuable elements;
Quartz and calcite were separated in a separated zone to the
valuable elements;
The mineralogy of the sample makes the likelihood of slimes
generation during
processing high;
Initial test work has shown a possibility for upgrading U into the
fine size fractions;
and:
the test workhad indicatedthat anacid leachingprocessmaybe
preferable toalkaline
leaching. However attempts to remove the acid-consuming mineral
calcite prior to
leaching were not successful.
WAI is of the opinion that, based on the test work described in
this report, no fatal flaws have been
identified. However, further testing is required to advance the
project to Feasibility Study level,
including;
leach technology in processing the Häggån ore; and
Studies of the materials behaviour relevant to heap leaching
(crushing,
agglomeration, stacking, etc.).
Mining
Mauritania
The project is shallowand flat lying withthe bulk of material
within 3m of surface. Production is likely
to be scheduled along 100m panels, backfilling behind as the
production moves forward. The material
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is diggable and is likely to be excavated using contractors with a
small fleet of bulldozers, front-end
loaders andhaul trucks.
Sweden
The project is located in a shale host rock up to 240m thick, under
an overlaying limestone cap of
irregular thickness. The deposit lends itself to be minedas a
conventional large scale truck and shovel
operation, with the possibility of locating an edge of pit crusher
and conveyorto a central processing
facility. The optimised pits have a projected depth of between
110mRL and 130mRL.
Three processing options have been used for optimisation, producing
either two or three open pits
with one or two satellite pits. These pits contain approximately
741Mt of mineralised material at
168ppm U3O8, 444Mt of mineralised material at 173ppm U3O8, or
1,024Mt mineralised material at
162ppm U3O8, all with some Ni, Mo and V components.
Recommendations
The recommendations for both Sweden and Mauritania are generally
similar, and are grouped
together below. Obviously, the details will differ per
project.
1. Upgrading the Mineral Resources by;
a. additional infill drilling of the selected projects
and/or;
b. trenching/trial mining with the aim of;
i. better delineating the contained mineralisation; and
ii. understanding the grade continuity and defining of the
geostatistical
characteristics of the projects. This should allow for the
optimisation of grade
control in any mining operation.
c. better defining the density of the ore.
2. Further metallurgical test work involving refinement of the
processes identified in the work to
date.
a. Bulk samples from the trenching/trial mining could be utilised
for this aspect; and
b. A modular pilot plant would be an ideal solution.
3. Detailedhydrogeological studies inMauritania to ensure that the
water supplies for any mining
operation will be adequate.This has to be a priority given the
aridity of the area;
4. Advancing the projects to Feasibility Study level by completing
the following studies;
a. Mine scheduling and equipment definition;
b. Capex estimates to ±15% level;
c. Definition of the metallurgical processes required (see
above);
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d. Environmental/social studies to the required corporate
responsibility standards. This is
particularly the case in Sweden where there is a history of
environmental activism against
uranium mining; and
e. Financial modelling to the required standard.
5. Investigate the lithium/soda ashpotential of the sabkha
identified during the WAI site visit. It is
possible that the sabkha could alsobe a source of water, although
the distance to the uranium
projects is possibly somewhat excessive; and
6. Complete a Feasibility Study to the required level.
Consultants and Interests
industry consultancy.The consultants used in the preparationof this
report are employed by WAI or
are associates, and each have in excess of 5 years of relevant
professional experience in the
estimation, assessment and evaluation of uranium deposits as well
as prior field experience of the
geology and mineralisation of uranium deposits.
Details of the principal consultant involved in the preparation of
this document is as follows:
Greg Moseley, BSc, MSc, CEng, MIMM, FRGS, WAI Associate, Competent
Person
Greg has over 47 years’ experience as a mining andexploration
geologist, in all sectors of the industry.
He has worked in many geological terranes overfive continents on a
broad mixof commodities.Over
the last 10 years he has worked mainly in Africa (23 different
countries) as a consultant. Of late, much
of the consulting work has involved assessing exploration and
mining projects and planning
exploration programmes to evaluate them. He has worked for both
large corporate entities and
smaller, junior exploration companies. He has organised and
supervised exploration teams working in
difficult conditions and guided projects through to feasibility.
More particularly, he has extensive
experience in uranium deposits:
in South Africa, Niger, Zambia and Tanzania;
Evaluation of a surficial calcrete- and gypcrete-hosted uranium
deposit in South
Africa;
Review of the feasibility of calcrete-hosted uranium deposits in
Namibia;
Site visits as CP to uranium occurrences/deposits in Uganda,
Senegal andMali; and
Considerable experience in assessing multi-commodity ore deposits
in a variety of
geological terranes.
He has written reports on uranium deposits and exploration to
comply with various stock exchange requirements (NI 43-101, Valmin,
etc.)
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He is fluent in Portuguese, and has adequate Spanish and French and
has assisted with the
implementation of new mining laws insome African countries.
Neither WAI, its directors, employees nor company associates hold
or have held any securities in Aura
Energy Limited, its subsidiaries or affiliates, nor have or have
had:
any rights to subscribe for any securities of Aura Energy Limited,
its subsidiaries or
affiliates, either now or in the future;
any interest in any of the assets of Aura Energy Limited, its
subsidiaries or affiliates;
any vested interest or any rights to subscribe to any interest in
any properties or
concessions, or in any adjacent properties and concessions held by
Aura Energy
Limited, its subsidiaries or affiliates; or
been promised or led to believe that any such rights would be
granted to WAI, its
directors, employees and company associates.
In addition, WAI, its directors, employees and company associates
are independent of Aura, its
subsidiaries and affiliates and of any director, senior manager
andadviser of Aura.
The only commercial interest WAI has in relation to Aura Energy
Limited, its subsidiaries or affiliates
is the right to charge professional fees to Aura Energy Limitedat
normal commercial rates, plus normal
overhead costs, for work carriedout in connectionwith the
investigations reported herein, such fee
not being linked to either the admission of Aura onto AIM, a market
operatedby the London Stock
Exchange plc or the valuationof Aura.
All work conducted in connection with this CPR has been the subject
of an internal reviewat WAI. WAI
are not aware of any material fact or material change with respect
to the subject matter of this CPR
that is not reflected in the CPR, the omissionto disclose which
makes the CPR misleading. Given the
absence of material changes since the previous Mineral Resource
Estimates covering Aura’s
Mauritanian and Swedishassets, WAI considers these previous Mineral
Resource Estimates toremain
valid.
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2.1 Terms of Reference and Scope of Works
Wardell Armstrong International (“WAI”) was commissioned by Aura
Energy Ltd (Aura) to produce a
Competent Persons Report (CPR) for their uranium assets in
Mauritania and Sweden. WAI has
prepared this CPR report on the exploration, geology and evaluation
of the uranium mineralisation
present on the various Aura licences in Mauritania andSweden.
This document reports on the geology and exploration of, and
mineralisation present on, the Aura
licences with a view to understanding the economic viability of the
uranium mineralisation.
2.2 Sources of Information and Data
Most of the more detailed geological data and information contained
in this report has been sourced
from Aura’s exploration/evaluation work. The regional geological
data has been sourced from public
domain sources. All these data have been augmentedby discussions
with the licence holders, notably
Mr Neil Clifford, and by personal observations made by Mr Greg
Moseley, the Competent Person (CP),
during a site visit to Mauritania between 11 to 16 May 2016, and a
site visit to Sweden between 18 to
20 May 2016.
2.3 Field Involvement of Competent Person
Mr Greg Moseley on behalf of WAI visited Mauritania from 11 to 16
May 2016 and Sweden from 18
to 20 May, 2016. Mr Moseley visited the Aura holdings in
Mauritanianand Swedenin the company
of senior Aura personnel. The visit was aimed at gaining an
understanding of the overall geological
setting and the style of mineralisation that is prevalent on the
Aura-controlled properties. Specifically,
the geological settingwas the subject
ofdetailedexaminationtogetherwiththerelevantdrilling/assay
results. Careful attention was also paid to the field conditions
and the access problems and
opportunities as a more detailed feasibility study is
envisaged.
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3 RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS
The opinions and conclusions presented in this report are mainly
based on data generated and
provided by Aura during their exploration/evaluation activities
over the last several years. This was
augmented by discussions with senior Aura personnel, notably the
senior consulting geologist Neil
Clifford. Additional information was gained by researching the
literature on the regional geology of
bothFennoscandiaandWestAfrica
togetherwithvarious“academic”geological/mineralogical studies
of the relevant mineralisation.
Following the investigations carried out in the production of this
report, it is deemed fair and
reasonable to verify the reliability of all of the information
presented here, and WAI is therefore
confident as to the accuracy of the data generated to date.
Information regarding property titles, licensing agreements and
environmental liabilities was supplied
by Aura but was not beenverifiedduring the course of the WAI site
visit. However, there are no known
issues around the positioning andboundaries of the licences. WAI
has not conducted a legal review of
ownership or property boundaries, the information provided by WAI
is for general reference only. It
is understood that a legal due diligence is being conducted and
this will be reported separately by
other Aura legal advisors.
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4 MAURITANIAN ASSETS
4.1 Property Description
4.1.1 Property Location
The eight exploration licences controlled by Aura are located in
the Bir MoghreinDepartment of the
Tiris Zemmour Region of northern Mauritania, close to the borders
with Algeria and Western Sahara.
They are collectively known as the Tiris Project after the
geographical region. The Aura licences are
shown below in Figure 4.2 andFigure 4.2 below.
Figure 4.1: Location of the Aura Licences in Mauritania
(indicated)
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Figure 4.2: Location of the Aura Deposits in Mauritania
The easternmost licences, collectively known as the Tiris Project
(shown in Figure 4.2), are the main
subject of this report as the bulk of Aura’s exploration/evaluation
work has been concentrated in this
area.
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4.1.2 Mineral Title
The overall Tiris Project consists of eight exploration permits, as
seen in Table 4.1 below:
Table 4.1: Licence Details (see Figures above for Location)
Ministry
1482B4 Oum Ferkik Sud Aura 476 30 05 2011 Grant
Pending Pending Pending
Pending Pending Pending
2365B4 Oued El Foule Sud Aura 224 18 05 2015 Application Pending
Pending
2366B4 Agouyame Aura 34 20 05 2015 Application Pending
Pending
561B4 Oum Ferkik Aura 60 19 12 2007
Granted
563B4 Oused El Foule Est Aura 313 19 12 2007
Granted (third
Granted (third
1st
Total area granted 1,419
Total area app 258
Total area all 1,677
Note: Information above supplied by Aura staff, and has not been
subject to a legal due diligence by WAI.
The Tiris Project licences are located approximately 440km east of
the town of Bir Moghrein and
630km north-east of the regional (and mining centre) of Zouerate
(Figure 4.2) and some 1,200km
distant from the Mauritaniancapital of Nouakchott.
The eastern Tiris licences are centred at coordinate 680,000 E by
2,810,000 N (approximately) in the
UTM Zone 29 system. This approximates to 25° 22’10’’ North and 07°
11’ 52’’ East basedon the WGS
84 datum.
There are several other companies with uranium exploration licences
within the Bir Moghrein
Department and these are noted in this report where relevant to the
consideration of Aura’s holdings.
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The following text outlines the Mauritanian Mining law framework,
general requirements, and
obligations of exploration and mining companies, and is included
herein for guidance. WAI has not
undertaken a legal due diligence survey of the licences and
permits, and specific contractual and
licence obligations pertaining to Aura should be obtained through a
detailed legal due diligence
survey.
The Mauritanian Mining law insists that a mining convention is
signed before the issuance of an
exploration permit. This convention covers the exploration and
production phase and permits an
enhance the contractual character of relations between the State
and the investor. The mining
convention is to specify the general conditions, legal, fiscal,
economic, administrative, customs, and
social in which the company will carry out the research work and /
or operating withinthe perimeter
defined in the permit or operating permit.
The following extracts are from various commentaries on the
Mauritanian mining law and recent
Amendments, and serve to illustrate the requirements.
The principal laws regulating mining in Mauritania are:
Law no 2008-011 dated 27 April 2008 enacting the mining code, as
amended by Law
no 2009-026 dated 7 April 2009, Law no 2012-014 dated22 February
2012, and Law no
2014-088 dated 27 April 2014 (hereafter the “Mining Code”);
Decree no 2008-158 dated 4 November 2008, on taxes and mining
royalties;
Decree no 2008-159 dated 4 November2008 (hereafter the “Decree”),
on mining and
quarry titles;
Decree no 2009-051 dated 4 February 2009 (amending certain
provisions of the
decree); and
Law no 2012-012dated 12 February 2012, on mining conventions and
approving the
Model Mining Convention (hereafter the “Model Mining
Convention”).
The following extract from a commentary on the Mauritanian mining
law illustrates the basic
requirements:
“In order to be entitled to conduct exploration activities, an
application must be lodged with
the Mining Registry If the application is approved, the exploration
permit is delivered for a
period of three (3) years, and it may be renewed twice (and each
time for a maximum period
of three years).
Rights given by virtue of holding an exploration permit include the
following:
Right of access to the land covered by the exploration
permit;
Exclusive right to explore and research all substances within the
scope of what has
been authorised by the permit;
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Right to use sand and gravel on land belongingto theState(except
ifthe land issubject
to a quarry title held by a third party); and
Right to remove and ship out mineral samples.
Obligations of the title holder:
Within 90 days of the date of the granting of the permit the title
holder must
commence the works;
The minimum cost of the works carried out will be 15,000 UM/km²
during the first
period of validity of the permit, 20,000 UM/km² during the period
of the first renewal
and 30,000 UM/km² during the period of the second renewal;
and
Submission of an annual report on activities to the Ministry of
Mines.”
Aura has supplied WAI with the following fees (Table 4.2) which are
also payable:
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Period of
submission 50000.00 $193.67
notification letter 2000000 $7746.70 2000 $7.75
1
1 Year 3 anniversary 6000 $23.24
2 15 days from 1st renewal
application submission 50000.00 $193.67
notification letter (grant
application submission 50000.00 $193.67
notification letter (grant
Exchange Rate 0.00387335
Aura appear to have complied with all the basic requirements of the
mining lawin order to maintain
their various licences in good order and to ensure their validity.
This is illustrated by the following
Table 4.3, taken frominformation supplied by Aura, which shows the
minimum expenditures required
by the Mauritanian mining law andregulations for each of the
licences listed in Table 4.1:
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Ministry
Code
Permit
Name
Area
563B4 Oued El
Foule Est 314
561B4 Oum
Ferkik 60
961B4 Oued El
finalised
Not
finalised
Not
finalised
Not
finalised
2366B4 Agouyame 34 Application To be defined 510,000 2,138.23
Not
finalised
Exchange Rate MRO to AUD at 23/3/2016= 0.0041926
It will be noted in Table 4.1 that several of Aura’s licences are
reaching their “maximum life” as
exploration licences, having been granted a third period of
validity, and will therefore need to be
converted into mining licences at the end of that period.
The Mining Code, 2008 – 2009, was revised in 2012 to give
competitive advantages to investors in the
sector. This new code, is governed by the role “first come, first
served”. It establishes a surface license
of 1000km2, for a company registered in Mauritania for a period of
30 years and renewable several
times.
At this point several other factors become relevant:
Government participation - as per the New Model Mining Convention a
10% “free
participation” and optional maximum 10% participation in cash is to
be granted by the
relevant investor to the Mauritanian State in the operating
company. This provision
was introduced in the Mining Code by the lawn°2009-026 andthe New
Model Mining
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Convention only specifies that the 10% mandatory “free
participation” cannot be
subject to dilution in case of share capital increase, as is usual
in other African
countries.Unfortunately,the NewModel MiningConventiondoes not
provide further
details on the regime applicable to suchparticipations (issuance
date, no priority on
dividends, no application to existing permits etc.).
There are various other provisions, e.g. employment of Mauritanian
nationals, training, technology
transfer, etc.Whichhave to be adhered to.
Royalty payments – uranium appears to be a “Group 4” commodity and
as such, will
attract a royalty of 3.5%. [This is currently unclear as the
definitive list of commodities
is not currently available to WAI.]
Mining Production - the owner needs to prove that they have the
necessary financial
and technical capacities.
Start-up - It is important to note that work on the ground –
presumably construction
– should be started within 24 months of the mining licence being
granted.
For further details on the Mauritanian Mining Law, WAI refers the
reader to; www.iclg.co.uk/practice-
areas/mining-law/mining-law-2016/mauritania.
4.1.5 Location of Mineral Occurrences and Historical Workings
Prior to the exploration work carried out by Aura, there were no
known mineral occurrences in the
area of the licences. Consequently, as a “greenfields” discovery,
Aura has been developing the
resource base through the company’s own exploration/evaluation
work.
4.1.6 Environmental Liabilities and Permitting
Aura is fully cognisant of the importance to ascertain if there are
any environmentally limiting factors.
Upon the cessation of exploration works or at the end of mining
operations, the title holder must
declare the measures that it intends to take in order to comply
with its obligations under the
Environment Code and with a view to the restoration of the site to
its previous state.
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4.2.1 Accessibility
As may be seen from the location of the exploration permits (see
figures in Sections 4.1 and 4.2),
access is somewhat complex.The nearest town with commercial flight
access is Zouerate, an iron ore
mining centre. From Zouerate, the Tiris licences (s.l.) are reached
via desert tracks in approximately
12 to 14 hours.While these tracks are poorly delineated, it is
possible todrive almost anywhere across
the desert at reasonable speeds.The tracks are mainly firm sand
with some rocky stretches that cause
slower progress.
Within the licences travel is generally straightforward due to the
extreme peneplanation that has
taken place (see Section 4.2.5 below) allowing vehicle access to
all areas of the licences. The beltsof
sand dunes do cause some diversions but these are generally
circumvented without too many
problems.
4.2.2 Climate
The nearest centre in Mauritania with reliable climate statistics
is Bir Moghrein some 440 km to the
west of the Tiris licences.The climate in Bir Moghrein is arid,
desert withvirtually no rainfall during
the year, with approximately 40mmof total precipitationper annum
Figure 4.33 below. The Köppen-
Geiger climate classification is BWh. The average annual
temperature is ~23°C with highs in the low
40s.
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4.2.3 Local Resources
The Reguibat area in general is very sparsely populated while the
Tiris Project licences specifically are
effectively uninhabited except for occasional visits by desert
nomads and military patrols. The Oum
Ferkik licences are relatively close to the military (and border)
post of Ain Ben Tili (see Figure 4.2
above). The nearest town of any note is Zouerate which is some
600km south west of the Tiris East
project area
Consequently, few social problems are envisaged from the local
populace but any labourwill needto
be sourced from other areas of Mauritania.
4.2.4 Infrastructure
Given its remote location, albeit within a country with a
reasonably developed mining industry, the
infrastructure in the licence areas is poor to non-existent.
Mauritania has a history of mining stretching back several decades
with the iron ore resources being
particularly well-developed. The main ironore mining centre is
Zouerate where most facilities can be
found.
The iron ore mining is largely controlled by the Société Nationale
Industrielle et Minière de Mauritanie
(“SNIM”) but there are now several other companies exploring for
iron ore. Gold is becoming a
significant factor with the Tasiast mine being a major operation.
Aura have applied for two gold
licences just to the southof Tasiast, these are briefly discussed
inSection 4.13.2.
4.2.5 Physiography and Vegetation
Figure 4.4 below illustrates the topography between Zouerate andthe
Aura properties on a general
scale showing the boundary of the Aura permits (s.l.).
The terrain encompassing the Aura uranium projects specifically is
very flat, the result of extreme
peneplanation of the desert landscape. This peneplanation has had a
profound effect on the
development of the uranium mineralisation and this is discussed
further in Section4.2.5 below. The
exception to the flat landscape are the dune fields which rise to
height of ±10 – 15m above the desert
plain.
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Aura Exploration Permits – blue and fuchsia outlines
Route to and from Zouerate
Grid is at 50km intervals
The vegetation, as to be expected in this extreme desert
environment, is sparse to non-existent with
large areas consisting if stony desert interspersed withmoving dune
fields, barchans and longitudinal
dune systems, see Photo 4.1 below.
Photo 4.1: Typical Landscape Around the Tiris Project Area
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4.3.1 Summary of Regional Exploration and Mining History
Due to the remoteness of northern Mauritania, virtually no
geological mapping had beencarriedout
in the areas under discussion, however a World Bank funded “joint
venture” between the British
Geological Survey (“BGS”) and the French Bureau de Recherches
Géologiques et Minières (“BRGM”)
in the early 2000’s mapped the whole of Mauritania. This mapping
has been compiled andrefined by
a later World Bank contract withthe United States Geological Survey
(“USGS”), see Figure 4.5 below.
Figure 4.5: Geology of Northern Mauritania Based on the
BGS/BRGM/USGS Mapping
Uranium exploration in Mauritania has taken place over three time
periods. During the first period,
from 1959 to 1982 ECA International, Australia (ECA), TCMN,
Minatome, and Cogema Mining, Inc.,
carriedout exploration inthe NorthernReguïbat Shield (Marot,
2003).Duringthe sameperiod,Bureau
de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) identified mineral
occurrences, including uranium,
during their geologic mapping programs. The second periodwas from
2000 to 2004 during which the
BRGM and the British Geological Survey (BGS) undertook regional
geological mapping, geochemical
surveys, and airborne geophysical surveys as a part of the Projet
de Renforcement Institutionnel du
Secteur Minier de la République Islamique de Mauritanie (“PRISM”)
project.
The third period commenced when, Aura acquired the airborne
geophysical data set in 2007 as part
of a regional study to identify uranium opportunities in West
Africa. Based on the geophysical results
various exploration licences were secured which form the basis of
Aura’s current exploration efforts.
It can be seen from Figure 4.6 (below) that the Aura licences fall
within significant radiometric
anomalies.
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Figure 4.6: Airborne Radiometric Map of Part of North-Eastern
Mauritania
Aura Licences and GPS Track of Recent Visit Indicated
Several other companies, e.g. Forte Energy, Alba Resources and some
Mauritanian companies, also
picked up some prospective licences in the region – but in general,
not in close proximity to Aura’s
ground holdings.
4.3.2 Historical Exploration within the Aura-controlled
Concessions
Very little mining-specific exploration work was carriedout in the
licence areas underdiscussion until
Aura initiated work in 2007. Prior to that a SouthAfrican company
(TransAfrika Resources) held one
of the licences (now known as Hippolyte South, see Section 4.8.1.2
below) and carried out some
limited preliminary investigations.
4.3.3 Historical Resource Estimates
Prior to Aura, there have been no works leading to a Resource
Estimate.
4.4 Geology and Mineralisation
4.4.1 Regional Geological Setting
Mauritania has five geological provinces as shown in Figure 4.7
below:
Rgueïbat Shield (also spelled Reguibat);
Taoudeni Basin;
Tindouf Basin;
Mauritanide Belt; and
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Figure 4.7: Geological Provinces of Mauritania Showing Uranium
Exploration Licence Areas
The geological province of relevance to this document is the
Reguibat Shield (the pink areas in Figure
4.7) where the Aura exploration permits are located.
The Reguibat Shield underlies most of northern Mauritania. It is
bounded by the Palæozoic Tindouf
Basin to the north, the Mesoproterozoic to Mesozoic Taoudeni Basin
to the southeast and the Pan-
African, Caledonian, and Variscan fold-thrust belt of the
Mauritanides in the southwest and west-
northwest.
The shield is made up of two tectonostratigraphic domains
separatedby a NNE-SSW regional zone of
intense ductile shearing up to 40 kilometres wide.
The western domain is made up largely of Meso- to Neoarchean
gneisses andgranitic rocks, while the
eastern domain consists mainly of Paleoproterozoic granitic and
supracrustal rocks assembled during
the Eburnean Orogeny ca.2.1 Ga and therefore of Birimianage.
The USGS has documentedsome 80 uranium occurrences in Mauritania
and based on a reviewof the
geologic and exploration data, uranium occurrences were classified
according to the type of
mineralization and level of exploration see Table 4.4 below. Of the
80 uranium occurrences, 70% are
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calcrete type mineralization. Mineralization at 16 other
occurrences is hosted by granitic bedrock and
is associatedwith veins and (or) shearzones.
Table 4.4: Types of Uranium Occurrences in Mauritania
Deposit Type Number Percent
Unknown 10 13
Total 80 100
It is also clear that the vast majority of these uranium
occurrences, notably the calcrete hosted
projects, are located in areas underlain by the Eburnean granitoids
(s.l.) as may be noted from Figure
4.7 above and Figure 4.8 below:
Figure 4.8: Uranium Projects and Occurrences in the Eburnean of the
Reguibat Shield
Note the Projects within the Aura Exploration Areas
4.4.2 District Geology
As previouslynoted inSection4.4.1the uraniummineralisation
islargelyassociatedwiththeEburnean
age granitoids, which in the area under consideration, are
interspersed with the Birimian volcano-
sedimentary belts typical of the West African craton. The overall
“cratonic” setting is shownFigure 4.9
where the areal extent of the West African Craton, including the
Dorsale Reguibat, is quite clear. The
approximate position of the Aura Mauritanian uraniumproject is
indicated (red star).
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Figure 4.9: Major Crustal Subdivisions of Northern Africa
(Note: Figure 4.5 shows the geology in more detail with the
Birimian Belts indicated by the olive green ornament.)
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4.5.1 General
There are a number of classification schemes for uranium
mineralisation which address various
aspects of the formation and preservation of economic projects.
These include, inter alia, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (“IAEA”) classification, here
ranked according to their (current)
international economic significance:
9. Volcanic deposits;
10. Surficial deposits;
11. Metasomatite deposits;
12. Metamorphic deposits;
14. Black shale deposits; and
15. Other types of deposits.
The IAEA classification scheme works well, but is far from ideal,
as it does not consider that similar
processes may form many deposit types, yet in a different
geological setting. The following Table 4.5
groups the above deposit types based on theirenvironment of
deposition.
Aura Mauritania
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Surface Processes/synsedimentary
Surficial deposits
Collapse breccia pipe deposits
Metasomatite deposits
Vein deposits Intrusive deposits
Metamorphic –Hydrothermal? Metamorphic deposits
The British Geological Survey (“BGS”) has a more descriptive
classification scheme with examples from
the different environments:
Deposit Type Brief Description Typical Grade
(ppm U) Examples
5,000 to 200,000
Sandstone-hosted Oxidising-reducing conditions in sandstones 400 to
4,000 Beverly, Australia: Inkai,
Kazakhstan
300 to 500 Olympic Dam, Australia
Vein Cavities such as cracks, fissures, pore spaces or
stockworks
250 to 1,000 Lianshanguan, China
Quartz-pebble conglomerates
130 to 1,000 Hartebeestfontein, South Africa
Intrusive Associated with crystallisation or remobilisation of a
magma
60 to 500 Rossing, Namibia
Phosphorite Associated with sedimentary phosphates 60 to 500
Melovoe, Kazakhstan (closed)
Collapse Breccia Concentrated in the matrix and fractures
surrounding breccia pipes
2,500 to 10,000
Volcanic & Caldera related
Associated with delsic, lava, ash fields and related sediments
(e.g. rhyolite or trachyte)
200 to 5,000 Xiangshan (Zoujiashan), China
Surficial Unconsolidated near-surface sediments. Sometimes cemented
with carbonate
500 to 1,000 Langer Heinrich, Namibia : Yeelire deposit
Australia
Metasonatite Alteration of minerals within a rock, often caused by
the nearby emplacement of magma
500 to 2,000 Ingullii, Ukraine
Metamorphic Concentration by processes such as partial melting.
Often remobilisation by fluids.
500 to 2,000 Mark Kathleen, Australia (closed)
Lignite Associated with coalified plant detritus or adjacent clay
and sandstone
Less than 1,000
Koldjat, Kazakhstan (closed)
Black Shale Rocks of marine origin with high organic content
Less than 1,000
Schaenzel, France (closed)
Note: the mineralisation style in the Aura projects in Mauritania
is highlighted in red.
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While from an economic viewpoint, the following Figure 4.10 diagram
is instructive:
Figure 4.10: Grade/Tonnage Diagram for World Uranium Deposits
4.5.2 Mauritanian Projects – Discussion
calcrete projects (s.l.), see Figure 4.11 below.
The total estimated resources of these projects is 183.8Mt (see
Table 4.74) with an average gradeof
310ppm U3O8 (Figure 4.11). The calcrete projects total 138