September Quarterly Report

RNS Number : 7602R

Aura Energy Limited

31 October 2019

 

31st October 2019

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

AURA ENERGY LIMITED

("Aura" or the "Company")

SEPTEMBER QUARTERLY REPORT

Please click here to see the full report http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7602R_1-2019-10-31.pdf

KEY POINTS:

QUARTER SUMMARY

During the September quarter Aura Energy achieved the key milestone for the Tiris Uranium Project with the release of the Project's Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) (see ASX Announcement, dated 29 July 2019). The Tiris Uranium Project is fully permitted and construction ready.  The key Project outcomes were:

·        Low capital cost of US$62.9 million

·        Low C1 cash cost of US$25.43/lb U₃O₈

·        All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of US$29.81/lb U₃O₈

·        Production of 12.4 Mlbs U₃O₈ over 15 years

·        Payback period of 3.25 years

·        Maiden Ore Reserve Estimate for Tiris of 10.9 Mt @ 336 ppm U₃O₈

The key financial outcomes of the study were:

·        Total Project After Tax cash flow of US$289 million (A$413 million)

·        Average After Tax cash flow of US$19.2 million pa (A$27.4 million)

·        Project IRR of 26%

Aura continued the water drilling program for Tiris Project requirements and reported good success on a number of water drill holes. The program is ongoing. An initial review of a range of project operating enhancements for the Tiris Project was commenced and is ongoing

The drilling program on the Häggån Vanadium Project to upgrade the Mineral Resource to Measured and Indicated status was completed.

The Häggån Scoping Study was also completed in September with a number of technical aspects still under review with ASX prior to release.

Aura announced it had commenced preliminary field activities and data review on its granted exploration licences for its gold, base and battery metal tenements in Mauritania. The work included field inspections, geological mapping of structures and the review and confirmation of previous drill data for both the gold projects and the nickel cobalt projects.

TIRIS PROJECT, MAURITANIA (AURA 85%)

key Project outcomes of the study were:

·        Low capital cost of US$62.9 million

·        Low C1 cash cost of US$25.43/lb U₃O₈

·        All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of US$29.81/lb U₃O₈

·        Production of 12.4 Mlbs U₃O₈ over 15 years 

·        Payback period of 3.25 years

·        Maiden Ore Reserve Estimate for Tiris of 10.9 Mt @ 336 ppm U₃O₈

KEY FINANCIAL OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY WERE:

·        Total project After Tax cash flow of US$289 million (A$413 million)

·        Average After Tax cash flow of US$19.2 million pa (A$27.4 million)

·        Project IRR of 26%

Project Upside

·        Potential for Reserve addition via conversion from Global Resource

·        Potential for Resource addition within known mineralised areas

·        Exploration of known targets in Project area

·        Vanadium production from leach solution

·        3 Mlb U₃O₈ pa expansion case potential

·        Optimisation of reagent use

·        Optimisation of beneficiation in production to increase throughput

·        Optimisation of current Reserve Estimate

Implementation

·        The Project is fully permitted for development

·        Exploitation Licence granted

·        Environment Approval granted

·        Competitive uranium off-take contract in place

·        Export Credit Agency Finance response is very promising

·        Mincore Engineering acted as overall Project Engineer

·        Simulus Engineering performed Leach Plant Engineering

·        Adelaide Control Engineering (ACE) - U₃O₈ recovery and packaging

Peer Comparison

·        Tiris has one of the lowest uranium development capital costs of the current uranium projects (see ASX Announcement, dated 20 September 2019)

·        Robust capital cost estimate with 85% from direct supplier quotes

·        Development capital cost very competitive versus LOM capital cost for in-situ leach projects with repeat development capital

·        Low development cost enables rapid development relative to peers

·        Tiris' AISC is among the lowest in the world (see ASX Announcement, dated 20 September 2019)

·        Many peer companies quote pre-tax project financials

Aura Energy Limited is pleased to advise that the Tiris Uranium Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) has been completed and has confirmed the Tiris Uranium Project as a low capital cost and low operating cost development opportunity.

The Definitive Feasibility Study concluded that the project possesses both a very low capital development cost and a very low operating cost, and validates Aura's long held view that the Tiris Project is one of the most compelling uranium development projects in the world at the current time.

In the current uranium market environment, a key attribute of any new uranium project is the capital cost of development. Aura strove through the entire DFS to maintain this cost at the lowest level possible whilst retaining a robust development design. With the $US62.9 million capital defined, where 85% of the capital estimate is from supplier quotes, Aura now stands among its peers as having one of the lowest, if not the lowest, all in life of mine capital of any of the currently proposed uranium development projects.

A number of very good in-situ leach projects state low upfront capital, however, the 'repeat development capital' required in many of these projects in their early years needs to be considered as development capital. Aura in many instances competes very well with these projects.

The capital figure is exceptionally important as it signals the do-ability of the project and Tiris' small footprint and low capital cost makes it poised for quick development as soon as financing is achieved. We have often spoken of the 'building blocks to cashflow' and the completion of the DFS sets another of those building blocks in place and puts Aura on a path for producer status and regular cashflow.

The All-In Sustaining Cash Cost of $US29.81/lb U₃O₈ is extremely competitive when compared to our uranium development peers. The benefits of shallow mining and the simple beneficiation stage in the process, which leads to a small project footprint, are major elements of the Project's operating cost.

Potential for further upside exists including reserve and resource increases, expansion to 3 Mlbs U₃O₈ per annum, vanadium recovery and operational optimisation of mining and processing. Aura is confident that the operating team will be able to improve the project and financial outcomes in the production phase.

Aura is continuing to seek to further optimisation of the capital cost, improve elements of the process to reduce operating cost, and to validate the vanadium recovery option. In parallel, the promising start to the Export Credit Agency Finance process will intensify in the coming months as the ECA finance short-list is finalised.

Capital Cost

The Tiris Project capital cost is US$62.9 million.

Engineering company, Mincore, provided the capital cost estimate for the Tiris Project. This includes the scope of facilities and services required to design, purchase and construct the entire project, up to practical completion and handover to operations. 

Table 1: Tiris Project Capital Cost Summary

Description	Cost (U$M)
Mining (contract mining assumed)	0.00
Process Plant	25.01
Infrastructure	17.88
EPCM	4.45
Owner's cost	10.02
Contingency	5.57
Total Capital Cost	62.94

An exhaustive in-country engineering review was conducted including all infrastructure needs, particularly the road infrastructure to site. Of the 680 km road from Zouerate to Tiris, only 2km will require substantial roadworks.

Significantly, 85% of the capital cost for the Tiris Project has been sourced from direct supplier quotes. As a result of this thorough estimating approach, Aura is confident that the capital cost estimate for Tiris Uranium Project is robust.

No direct mining capital costs are outlined, as infrastructure to support the mining operations is included in the infrastructure numbers, there is no pre-strip required and mining costs are based on direct supplier quotes from a number of mining contractors with all mobile equipment costs included in the operating cost estimation received.

Operating Cost

The C1 cash cost will be US$25.43/lb U₃O₈.

The All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) will be US$29.81/lb U₃O_8.

The operating cost estimate is summarised in the table below. 

The AISC is inclusive of royalties, LOM sustaining capital, insurances and product transport.  These costs have been estimated as an average of annualised expenditure. 

Table 2: Tiris Project Operating Cost Summary

Category	US$/lb U3O8
Contract Mining	7.16
Labour	3.68
Power	4.57
Reagents	3.95
Maintenance	2.28
G&A	3.80
Total cash cost (C1)	25.43
All In Sustaining Cost (AISC)	29.81

Project Outcomes Summary

Table 3: Project Outcomes Summary

	Key Metric	DFS
Resource	Life of Mine (LOM)	15 Years
	Beneficiation Plant ore throughput (Design)	1.25 Mtpa
	Process Plant ore throughput	0.16 Mtpa
	ROM uranium grade (LOM)	364 ppm U3O8
Production	Uranium Metallurgical Recovery	86.1%
	Average Annual uranium production	823,000 lb U3O8
	LOM uranium production	12.35 Mlb U3O8

Financial Outcomes Summary

Table 4: Financial Outcomes Summary

	Key Metric	US$		A$
Capital	Mining, plant, infrastructure, indirects	57.37 M		88.26 M
	Contingency	5.57 M		8.57 M
	Total Capital	62.94 M		96.83 M
Operations	Exchange rate (USD:AUD)	0.65
	C1 Cash operating cost ($/lb U3O8)	25.43		36.33
	AISC operating cost ($/lb U3O8)	29.81		42.56
Project Financials	Assumed price (baseline) ($/lb U3O8)	60		86
	Project NPV8 (incl Royalties and tax)	89.9 M		128 M
	Project IRR (incl Royalties and tax)	26%
	Cashflow - Total (after-tax)	289 M		413 M
	Cashflow - Annual (after-tax)	19.2 M pa		27.4 M pa
	Project NPV8 (incl Royalties, pre-tax)	114 M		163 M
	Project Cashflow - Total (pre-tax)	351 M		501 M
	Project Cashflow - Annual (pre-tax)	23.4 M pa		33 M pa
	Project payback from start-up	3.25 years

Uranium Price Sensitivity

The table below outlines the project financials at both US$60/lb U₃O₈ and US$50/lb U₃O_8.

Table 5: Project Financials

Item	Uranium Price
	US$60/lb U3O8	US$50/lb U3O8
Project cashflow total (pre-tax)	US$351 M A$501 M	US$261 M A$373 M
Project cashflow - per annum (pre-tax)	US$23.4 M A$33.4 M	US$16.3 M A$23.3 M
Project cashflow total (after-tax)	US$289 M A$412.9 M	US$204 M A$291.4 M
Project cashflow - per annum (after-tax)	US$19.2 M A$27.4 M	US$13.6 M A$19.4 M
NPV8 (including royalties, pre-tax)	US$114 M A$162.9 M	US$60.5 M A$86.4 M
NPV8 (including royalties, after-tax)	US$89.9 M A$128.4 M	US$44.9 M A$64.1 M

ECA Finance Status

As previously advised (see ASX Announcements, dated 30 January 2019 and 25 September 2019) Aura has been progressing a financing strategy for the Tiris project with the debt portion focussed around the low-interest coupon ECA finance. This process, through its London-based financial advisory firms, SD Capital Advisory Limited and GKB Ventures Limited, has continued and recently met with positive feedback.

At this stage seven Export Credit Agencies have expressed ongoing interest in reviewing the Tiris Finance Package and this included some of the major ECAs. A number of these agencies have indicated interest to act on a sole basis.

There was good interest and capacity in funding Mauritanian projects with some ECAs indicating ability to provide Direct Lending at OECD CIRR* rates and also indications they are able to provide guarantees covering 100% of the political risks and 100% for the commercial risks.

This ECA process was not a formal application process and none of the responses are a formal indication to provide financing support for the projects. The Company has not completed any formal agreement at this time with an ECA.

Water

Following a period of initial geophysical evaluation Aura has been conducting a significant and broad based round of water drilling for the Tiris uranium project since the middle of 2019 which has reported significant success. Of 5 targets tested to date, 2 have reported significant water flows, a strong validation of the geophysical program.

As previously reported (see ASX Announcement, dated 25 September 2019) the water program is testing targets generated from the geophysics and is focussing on targets within 30 km of the proposed Tiris plant site.  The current drilling program will test 9 or 10 of the highest priority targets.

Target 22 yielded the following water, based on air-lift water flow measurement:

·    30-44m:  14,000 Lt/hr

Conductivity of this water was reported at 3200 µS/cm which indicates it is only moderately saline. For comparison, potable water is generally <2500 µS/cm while seawater is approximately 50,000 µS/cm.  Water of this salinity is likely to be suitable for processing at Tiris, depending on precise water chemistry.

Target 10 has yielded a flow of ;

·    63m:   3000 Lt/hr

The drilling rig encountered mechanical problems at 69m and the hole is not yet complete.

Ironically the Sahara region has experienced unusually heavy rainfall in the last week making movement difficult and drilling has been temporarily suspended for approximately 10 days until access is again possible.

Aura believes the current results confirm its long held position that significant water exists within the Oued el Foule Depression as discovered in a number of the deeper drillholes during evaluation drilling into the Tiris uranium mineralisation.

Reserve Estimate

The Ore Reserve estimate was generated by Mining Plus. The overall project financial model was prepared by Aura using inputs from the mining schedule physicals and the cost model.  Detailed processing, tailings disposal, power, water, camp infrastructure and logistics, and other costs were also developed as part of the Feasibility Study. Mining Plus reviewed the cash flow model with Aura to ensure that the project has a positive cash flow outcome, and this has been confirmed.

The declared Ore Reserve, at a 175 ppm U₃O₈ cut off is shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Ore Reserve (see ASX Announcement, dated 1 May 2018)

Description	Mt	U3O8 (ppm)	U3O8 (Mlb)
Lazare North
Proved	0.7	354	0.6
Probable	4.4	332	3.2
Lazare South
Proved	1.5	342	1.1
Probable	0.7	340	0.5
Hippolyte
Proved	1.9	331	1.4
Probable	1.7	334	1.3
Total
Proved	4.1	339	3.1
Probable	6.8	333	5.0
Total	10.9	336	8.1

The Ore Reserve was generated from the Mineral Resource Estimate produced by H&S Consultants (Sydney) with the appropriate modifying factors to apply for mining dilution. This Resource model was used in an open pit optimisation process to produce a range of pit areas using operating costs and other inputs derived from previous studies. Mining costs were built up from estimates derived from equipment supplier and mining contractor submissions and applied to a detailed mine schedule.

The Ore Reserve is based on information compiled by the following:

·        Revenue prices, based on historical averages and forward estimates, based on Offtake Agreement with Curzon Resources provided by Aura (see ASX Announcement, dated 29 January 2019).

·        Processing recoveries based on the geo-metallurgical model developed by Aura.

·        Mineral Resource estimate, H&S Consultants, (see ASX Announcement, dated 1 May 2018)

·        Pit optimisation and mine design completed by Mining Plus.

·        Capital costs, Mining Plus, Mincore, Simulus Engineers, Adelaide Control Engineers (ACE) and Aura.

·        Operating costs, Mining Plus, Mincore, Simulus Engineers, ACE and Aura.

Vanadium Potential

Vanadium occurs with uranium in carnotite, the host mineral for uranium in the Tiris Project as potassium uranium vanadate (K₂(UO₂)₂(VO₄)₂·3H₂O). Vanadium hosted with carnotite is leached alongside uranium in the Tiris extraction circuit. Aura has conducted preliminary evaluation on the feasibility of vanadium recovery from solution. The Tiris project value, which is driven by low operating and development capital costs, would benefit further with vanadium recovery which is considered technically achievable.

Vanadium occurs in the Tiris ore at a grade of 330 ppm V₂O₅ , a similar concentration to that of U₃O₈. Approximately half of this vanadium occurs within the uranium host mineral carnotite

Comparison with Scoping Study

In 2014, Aura released a Scoping Study on the Tiris Project (see ASX Announcement, dated 16 July 2014) and it was updated in 2017 (see ASX Announcement, dated 24 May 2017). In general, the results of the DFS support the ongoing confidence Aura has had in the project since 2014.

The comparison of the DFS capital cost estimate with the Scoping Study showed an increase of 21% from the 2014 escalated estimate. This is a good result given the greater detail in the DFS estimate. Importantly, the estimate for the main processing facility was within 3% between the studies.

Comparison of estimated OPEX demonstrated an overall reduction in operating costs between the Scoping Study and DFS of 14%. These reductions were predominantly achieved in optimisation of reagent consumption.

When compared with the August 2017 operating cost adjustment, the increase is largely attributed to the decision to utilise contract mining, rather than an owner operated fleet. This transferred expenditure from Capital to Operating costs and accounts for a significant proportion of the operating cost difference.

Table 7: Comparison of Scoping Study and DFS CAPEX estimate.  2014 Scoping Study costs escalated to 2019 values for comparison purposes.

Description	Scoping Study 2014	Scoping Study esc to 2019	DFS 2019
	US$/M	US$/M	US$/M
Mining	1.12	1.30	0.00
Process Plant	22.07	25.59	25.01
Infrastructure	9.03	10.47	17.88
EPCM	3.19	3.70	4.45
Owner's cost	1.58	1.83	10.02
Contingency	8.05	9.33	5.57
Total Capital Cost	45.04	52.21	62.94

Next Steps

Aura will now focus its attention to:

Primarily securing the funding package for the Tiris Uranium Project.

Further optimise elements of the Tiris DFS.

Complete the full water drilling program.

The Export Credit Agency finance process, as discussed, is beginning to create extensive interest for the funding of the project.

ECA finance allows national governments to provide support to development projects in a range of sectors and in return for that support, the project developer is required to source a significant proportion of a project's goods and services from the host country.

HÄGGÅN BATTERY METALS PROJECT, SWEDEN (AURA 100%)

With diamond drilling aimed at upgrading a substantial portion of the Häggån resource to Measured and Indicated status concluded in the March quarter work continued for the Häggån Resource Upgrade which was completed in the quarter.

Aura advised the results from its 100% owned Häggån Battery Metals Project, Sweden resource resulted in a new Global Resource of 2 Billion tonnes at an average grade of 0.3% V₂O₅, containing 13.3 Billion lbs V₂O_5, at a 0.2% V₂O₅ cut-off, which includes 320 million lbs V₂O₅ as Indicated Resource (see ASX Announcement, 18 August 2019 and 10 October 2019).

Importantly, the infill drilling and modelling work has confirmed 42 million tonnes at 0.35% V₂O₅ at 0.2% V₂O₅ cut-off as Indicated Resource in a coherent near-surface zone.

Häggån is a large poly-metallic deposit containing economically significant levels of V (vanadium), Ni (nickel), Zn (zinc), Mo (molybdenum) and other metals. Resource estimates have previously been conducted and reported on the Häggån Project in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2018 and since then additional infill drilling has been carried out.  

In summary, the new Resource Estimate at Häggån, at a range of V₂O₅ cut-offs, is presented in Table 1.  The 0.2% V₂O₅ cut-off is used to report the Häggån Resource Estimate.

At a higher cut-off grade of 0.4% V₂O_5, the resource contains approximately 113 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.43% V₂O₅, containing 1.1 billion lbs of V₂O₅.

Of particular interest within this global resource, is the definition as Indicated Resource of a coherent zone of mineralisation of 42 million tonnes at +0.35% vanadium pentoxide commencing at surface and extending to +100 metres below surface. This is referred to as the Northwest High-Grade zone.

The Resource Estimate is based on 16,500m of diamond drilling in 91 drillholes.  The Indicated Resource is based on 3,530m in 25 diamond drillholes.

The high-grade V₂O₅ zone defined as Indicated Resource is open in all horizontal directions. More drilling will be required to define the limits of the high-grade resource.

Project Location

The Häggån Project is located in central Sweden in a rural area, approximately one hour by car from the city of Östersund in the province of Jämtland. Östersund is well served by national and international air services, by rail and by road.

Häggån Tenements

Through its 100% owned Swedish subsidiary Vanadis Battery Metals AB, Aura holds five exploration permits, totalling 57.6 km² over and around the Häggån resource. The entire Häggån resource lies within one of these, Häggån nr1 which covers 18.3 km². The Häggån nr1 permit is currently in its final period of tenure which expires on 28 August 2022. After this the area can be retained as a mining licence.

Geology

The Häggån polymetallic mineralisation lies within a Cambrian to Lower Ordovician age geological unit known as the Alum Shale Formation. The Alum Shale was laid down within an ancient ocean which formed when what is now Greenland rifted apart from Scandinavia. The shallow marine waters coupled with prolonged stability resulted in the deposition of highly bituminous shales. This shale facies is generally between 10 and 60 metres thick and extends sporadically in Scandinavia from northern Norway to southern Sweden. The Alum Shale contains elevated but variable levels of a number of metals, principally vanadium, nickel, molybdenum, zinc, cobalt and in places copper and uranium.  These metals are believed to have been derived by weathering of granitic rocks in the adjoining Fennoscandian Shield and transported to the Iapetus Sea where the extreme anoxic conditions allowed the metals to precipitate or chelate with organic matter during sedimentation.

During the mid-Palaeozoic the former sea closed due to the collision of the Laurencia (Greenland) continental plate with the Baltica plate (Scandinavia). This collision resulted in thrusting of the lower Palaeozoic sequences, including the Alum Shale, from the west to the east over older basement rocks of the Fennoscandian shield. Together with slices of older basement, the sedimentary rocks were thrust several hundred kilometres eastwards over the edge of the Fennoscandian Shield in several large sub-horizontal thrust sheets c. 400 Ma ago.

Häggån lies close to the eastern edge of this sedimentary thrust-sheet package. (Refer to Figure 4 in the full RNS version).

Mineralisation

The mineralisation in the Alum Shale in the area investigated by Aura is enriched in various elements, principally:

·      Vanadium

·      Nickel

·      Molybdenum

·      Cobalt

·      Zinc

Vanadium occurs within the lattice of the mineral roscoelite, a variety of mica. Nickel, molybdenum, cobalt and zinc are present as sulphides. All minerals, with the exception of recrystallised carbonates, are very fine grained, typically around 10 microns in grain size.

The highest metal concentrations generally occur in the upper parts of the Alum Shale, and the highest vanadium grades in the Aura licences appear to occur in the upper thrust sheet.

The NWHG Zone here extends approximately 1 kilometre in both north-south and east-west directions. The coherence of this zone is shown in both cross-sections and plan in Figures 7 and 8 in the full RNS version.

Potential to Expand Measured/Indicated Resources

The 2018/19 resource upgrade drilling program was designed for cost reasons to upgrade approximately 70% of the resource on which a scoping study will be based into measured/indicated categories. However, the recent infill drilling has not defined the limits of the high grade (+0.4% V₂O₅) mineralisation. There is therefore excellent potential to expand the Indicated Resource on high grade mineralisation. 

TASIAST SOUTH GOLD PROJECT, MAURITANIA (AURA 100%)

During the quarter Aura commenced field activities and data review on its granted exploration licences for its gold, base and battery metal tenements in Mauritania (see ASX Announcements 3 April 2019 and 17 October 2019).

The work included field inspections, geological mapping of structures and the review and confirmation of previous drill data for both the gold projects and the nickel cobalt projects.

The tenements of 435 km² are in a highly prospective area lying on two lightly explored mineralised greenstone belts in Mauritania (See Figure 9 in full RNS). The areas lie along strike from Kinross' giant +20 Moz Tasiast Gold Mine, where Franco Nevada own a royalty, and from Algold's Tijirit gold deposits. Importantly, Kinross has also recently announced that it will expand gold production at Tasiast to 530,000 ounces per year.

Aura maintains that these tenements, with the single large Tasiast gold mine along strike, and strong base and battery metal results from limited previous exploration, represent some of the best under-explored greenstone belt targets in the world.

Aura recently commenced field activities with initial field inspection to locate artisanal mining sites, determine the extent of outcrop and assess access to enable planning of further evaluation activities.

Additionally, ongoing compilation and re-interpretation of data gathered from previous exploration campaigns has highlighted the following important aspects;

1.      Additional gold intersections on the Ghassariat prospect some 1.5 kms from the previous mineralised section indicating potential for a large mineralised gold system

2.      Existence of a large untested magnetic anomaly on the Bella prospect interpreted to reflect an unusually large ultramafic complex prospective for nickel and cobalt.  This has been tested so far only by a single line of bedrock drilling near its southern margin and this yielded strong nickel and cobalt values

3.      This complex within Bella has 5 additional lines of previously proposed drilling across magnetic highs which have not yet been executed

4.      Strong, previously unreported, nickel/cobalt/copper values on the Taet permit

5.      The Taet intercepts include strong copper values which may indicate the presence of nickel sulphides

Two artisanal pit locations were recorded, both small. As much of the Aura permit areas are under shallow cover or laterite the area is not generally attractive to artisanal miners.

Additional gold intersections on the Ghassariat prospect

Air-core drilling to bedrock by the previous explorer located several anomalous gold zones, up to eight kilometres in length (See Figure 10 in full RNS). Of particular interest is the Ghassariat Zone, which has 1-3 g/t gold values on three of the four air-core traverses drilled. This anomaly extends over about eight kilometres parallel to the strike of the greenstone belt.

The Ghassariat Prospect intersections occur in strongly sulphidic and quartz-veined mafic volcanics and have marked similarities with some of the ore zones and near-ore alteration zones at the neighbouring Kinross Tasiast Mine (See Figure 9 in full RNS).

Drilling to date has been principally shallow vertical air-core to sample the bedrock beneath shallow cover, with limited deeper RC testing below the air core drilling. A small number of RC holes have provided good results, however, the density of drilling is very low averaging approximately one hole per 20 km². A systematic program to ensure both deeper drilling under existing drill results and further shallow drilling on new targets is being planned.

Intersections in the Ghassariat Zone (see ASX Announcement Drake Resources Ltd 28 August 2012), confirmed by Aura's review of the drilling and assay data (refer Figures 11 and 12 in full RNS.

TGRC 022:      71m @ 0.3 g/t Au including:

·      5m @ 1.2 g/t Au,

·      3m @ 1.0 g/t Au

·      11m @ 0.5 g/t Au

TGRC 007:     38m @ 0.4 g/t Au including:

·      1m @ 6.1 g/t Au

·      10m @ 0.5 g/t Au

·      3m @ 0.9 g/t Au

Aura is encouraged by the fact that these intersections occur within broad mineralised intervals, indicating a substantial mineralised system, as opposed to narrow quartz veins. It should be noted that the nearest RC drill sections to these 2 holes are 1.5km away.

Aura's head of Geology, Neil Clifford commented "prior exploration here has been a first pass program directly along strike from the giant Tasiast gold deposit aimed at locating similar major deposits. The Ghassariat Zone, with existing RC holes on sections kilometres apart, could in fact be part of such a mineralised system. Interestingly, the Tasiast gold deposit is in Archean greenstones with strong similarities in terms of rock types, structure and mineralisation style with the great gold provinces in the Archean greenstone belts of Australia and Canada in which there have been many hundreds of gold mines. In the Tasiast district there is currently only one, reflecting how little explored this belt is. Clearly the potential for additional and substantial discoveries in the Tasiast district is very high", Mr Clifford said. "The Archean greenstone belts in Western Australia and Canada also contain many nickel deposits, and the early indications of this style of mineralisation on Aura's Tasiast properties are very promising", he continued.

Existence of a major untested magnetic anomaly on the Bella prospect

On a single line of shallow vertical aircore drilling on Bella permit, with holes spaced 100m apart, aimed at sampling bedrock, very strong nickel values were encountered over entire 1.6 km drill line with every hole that went deep enough intersecting nickel values between 0.5% and 1.0% nickel. (See Figure 13 in full RNS).

As indicated in Figure 14 in full RNS, the Bella Prospect is a major untested magnetic anomaly interpreted to reflect a large ultramafic complex. The location of the drill line in Figure 13 in full RNS within this ultramafic complex is shown in this figure.

It is notable that apart from this single line of sampling near its southern margin, this complex is untested. As shown by the blue lines in Figure 14 (see full RNS), the previous explorer had proposed five additional lines of bedrock drilling across magnetic highs which have not yet been executed.

Strong, previously unreported, nickel/cobalt/copper values on the Taet permit

On the Taet permit in the Tasiast Greenstone Belt, two reconnaissance lines of bedrock sampling for gold located strongly anomalous nickel values associated in places with strong cobalt and anomalous copper (See Figure 15 of full RNS). These occur within a complex of ultramafic rocks, interpreted to be komatiites (ultramafic lavas). 

A number of major nickel (+cobalt, copper) sulphide orebodies in better explored Archean greenstone belts occur in this type of rock (e.g. Kambalda in Western Australia). Of interest on the Taet targets is the existence of anomalous copper in some of the aircore drillholes as elsewhere, this can be indicative of the presence of nickel/copper sulphides.

The previous drilling has tested only a small portion of this ultramafic complex and there has been no follow-up on the high Ni, Co values located. Additionally, the 100m drill spacing to date is very broad for the detection of nickel sulphide zones which can be narrow.

High grade cobalt drill intersections were obtained on both the 1.6 km long drill line at Bella and on the Taet permits. Although sampling by the previous explorer for cobalt was sporadic with only approximately 1 in 10 samples assayed, 14 samples exceeded 0.1% Co, 6 samples > 0.25% Co and 3 samples > 0.5% Co.

Gold program funding

Aura believes these projects, where +$3m has already been spent with considerable initial success in locating gold, nickel and cobalt, are valuable assets deserving substantial expenditure to achieve their full potential. The current price for gold and battery metals further enhances the value of the assets.

Aura has commenced the following process;

1.      Approaches to several of the world's leading royalty companies

2.      Engagement with several companies regarding listed shells to utilise for its gold assets

3.      Review of a separate IPO

Aura expects that with the separate listing of the gold assets, similar to the proposed Häggån (Sweden) IPO, significant value will be attributed to Aura.

Aura will continue to progress this process but only conclude a transaction should a suitable value proposition be achieved. Aura welcomes any additional interested parties to the process.

Future Work Program and Other Opportunities

Next technical steps envisaged at Tasiast South are:

·        Ground electrical geophysics to locate the strongest zones of disseminated sulphide development to assist drill targeting for both gold and nickel targets

·        Systematic drilling and systematic drill testing (RC and DD) of targets already defined

·        Airborne magnetic surveying of the Nomads JV area to better define geology and favourable structural zones.

·        Additional bedrock sampling by air-core or auger-drilling to better define the high nickel ultramafic rocks and zones of copper/nickel for follow up drilling

CORPORATE

Appointment of New AIM Market (LSE) Nomad

During the quarter Aura concluded the appointment of SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP ("SP Angel") as Nomad for its UK AIM listing.

WH Ireland, the companies former Nomad, has been retained as a Joint Broker to the company.

Funding

Aura completed an R&D Loan Financing facility for $250,000 and received approximately $77,000 from subscribers to the loyalty options.

Aura Energy Directory

ASX Code:                               AEE

AIM Code:                                AURA

Shares on issue:                      1,315,190,556

Unlisted Options:                     98,979,589

Performance Rights:                27,500,000

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

For more information please visit www.auraenergy.com.au or contact the following:

Aura Energy Limited Peter Reeve (Executive Chairman) SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker) Ewan Leggat Caroline Rowe WH Ireland Limited (Joint Broker) Adrian Hadden James Sinclair-Ford Yellow Jersey PR Limited Felicity Winkles Joe Burgess

Telephone: [phone] [e-mail] Telephone: [phone] Telephone: [phone] Telephone: [phone]

APPENDIX 1

TIRIS PROJECT MINERAL RESOURCES

(see ASX Announcement, dated 30 April 2018)

Please refer to table in full RNS

Note

Aura is conducting a Definitive Feasibility Study on its 52 million-pound U₃O₈ Mineral Resource (see ASX announcement, dated 30 April 2018. The Tiris Uranium Project is a near-term development project with production expected in 2020. The Company is not aware of any information or data that materially affects the information included in the relevant market announcement and, in the case of Mineral Resources, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.

HAGGAN BATTERY METALS PROJECT

INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCES

(see ASX Announcement, dated 25 October 2018)

Please refer to table in full RNS

Note

Aura is conducting a Scoping Study on its Haggan Vanadium Project Mineral Resource (see ASX announcement, dated 25 October 2018). The Company is not aware of any information or data that materially affects the information included in the relevant market announcement and, in the case of Mineral Resources, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Competent Persons for Tiris Project

The Competent Person for the information in this report that relates to Tiris Mineral Reserves is based on information compiled and reviewed by Mr Andrew Hutson, a Competent Person who is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and a full-time employee of Mining Plus Pty Ltd. Mr Hutson has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he has undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code 2012. Mr Hutson has no economic, financial or pecuniary interest in the company and consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

The Competent Person for drill hole data and for aggregating the 2018 and 2011 resource estimates is Mr Neil Clifford. The information in the report to which this statement is attached that relates to drill hole data and to aggregation of the resource estimates 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 an independent consultant to Aura Energy. 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.

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.

Competent Persons for Haggan Project

The Competent Person for the Häggån 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 2012 Häggån Mineral Resource Estimate and classification, updated in 2018, is Mr Rupert Osborn MSc of H&S Consultants Pty Ltd. The information in the report to which this statement is attached that relates to the 2018 Resource Estimate is based on information compiled by Mr Rupert Osborn, who has sufficient experience that is relevant to the resource estimation.  This qualifies Mr Osborn 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 Osborn is an employee of H&S Consultants Pty Ltd, a Sydney based geological consulting firm. Mr Osborn is a Member of The Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) and 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 drill hole data, cut-off grade and prospects for eventual economic extraction is Mr Neil Clifford. The information in the report to which this statement is attached that relates to drill hole data, cut-off grade and prospects for eventual economic extraction 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 an independent consultant to Aura Energy.   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.

Competent Person for Tasiast South Project

The Competent Person in relation exploration results and potential at the Tasiast South gold and base metals project is Mr Neil Clifford.  Mr Clifford was a consultant to Drake Resources Ltd and conducted field exploration programmes for Drake whilst it conducted gold exploration in Mauritania.  Mr Clifford is also retained by Aura Energy Limited as a consultant and as the Competent Person for Aura Energy Limited, Mr Clifford has advised that the information in the market announcement released to the market on 3 April 2019 and 8 April 2019 are an accurate representation of the available data and studies of the tenements.

Mr Clifford has updated all data from the former tenement holder to the 2012 2012 edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' Code and sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he performed for the previous holder of the tenements granted to the Company. 

Mr Clifford is an independent consultant to Aura Energy Limited.   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							29 October 2019
	Rank		Name			Units			% of Units
1.		BNP PARIBAS NOMINEES PTY LTD <IB AU NOMS RETAILCLIENT DRP>			253,995,923			19.31
2.		COMPUTERSHARE CLEARING PTY LTD <CCNL DI A/C>			136,850,880			10.41
3.		PRE-EMPTIVE TRADING PTY LTD			76,600,000			5.82
4.		CITICORP NOMINEES PTY LIMITED			45,789,303			3.48
5.		LIND GLOBAL MACRO FUND LP			40,075,514			3.05
6.		MR LUKE PETER DALE + MRS MARIEANNE ERIKA DALE			30,809,234			2.34
7.		MR PETER DESMOND REEVE			27,218,304			2.07
8.		GEOGRUPPEN I GOTEBORG AB			26,890,922			2.04
9.		MET FORAGES SARL			18,811,250			1.43
10.		SAMBOLD PTY LTD <SUNSHINE SUPER FUND A/C>			15,364,895			1.17
11.		MR THOMAS IAN BARRETT			15,000,000			1.14
12.		J P MORGAN NOMINEES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED			11,999,891			0.91
13.		MR MALCOLM ALEXANDER BRIODY			10,128,904			0.77
14.		MRS LISA GORDON			10,000,000			0.76
15.		CS FOURTH NOMINEES PTY LIMITED <HSBC CUST NOM AU LTD 11 A/C>			9,952,386			0.76
16.		SERVICO SARL			9,828,718			0.75
17.		MR STEVEN ALLAN WEBSTER			7,400,000			0.56
18.		YARANDI INVESTMENTS PTY LTD <GRIFFITH FAMILY NO 2 A/C>			7,254,793			0.55
19.		MR BASIL CATSIPORDAS			7,000,000			0.53
20.		MR PHILIP ANDREW WRIGHT			5,300,000			0.40
	Total Top 20 Shareholders			766,270,917						58.26
	Remaining Shareholders			548,919,639						41.74
	GRAND  TOTAL			1,315,190,556						100.00

Top 20 Shareholders

Top 20 Shareholders							26 July 2019
	Rank		Name			Units			% of Units
1.		BNP PARIBAS NOMINEES PTY LTD <IB AU NOMS RETAILCLIENT DRP>			232,534,806			18.68
2.		COMPUTERSHARE CLEARING PTY LTD <CCNL DI A/C>			127,860,515			10.27
3.		PRE-EMPTIVE TRADING PTY LTD			75,000,000			6.02
4.		CITICORP NOMINEES PTY LIMITED			43,102,497			3.46
5.		LIND GLOBAL MACRO FUND LP			36,837,417			2.96
6.		MR LUKE PETER DALE + MRS MARIEANNE ERIKA DALE			31,709,234			2.55
7.		MR PETER DESMOND REEVE			27,218,304			2.19
8.		GEO-GRUPPEN AB\C			26,890,922			2.16
9.		SAMBOLD PTY LTD <SUNSHINE SUPER FUND A/C>			15,364,895			1.23
10.		MR THOMAS IAN BARRETT			15,000,000			1.20
11.		J P MORGAN NOMINEES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED			11,059,891			0.89
12.		MR MALCOLM ALEXANDER BRIODY			10,128,904			0.81
13.		CS FOURTH NOMINEES PTY LIMITED <HSBC CUST NOM AU LTD 11 A/C>			9,952,386			0.80
14.		SERVICO SARL			9,828,718			0.79
15.		MRS LISA GORDON			8,000,000			0.64
16.		KAJUN DESIGNS PTY LTD			7,599,998			0.61
17.		YARANDI INVESTMENTS PTY LTD <GRIFFITH FAMILY NO 2 A/C>			7,254,793			0.58
18.		MR STEVEN ALLAN WEBSTER			6,750,000			0.54
19.		MR PHILIP ANDREW WRIGHT			6,000,000			0.48
20.		MR PIETER HOEKSTRA + MRS RUTH HOEKSTRA <HOEKSTRA SUPER FUND A/C>			5,300,000			0.43
20		MR RICHARD GAUCI			5,300,000			0.43
	Total Top 20 Shareholders			718,693,280						57.72
	Remaining Shareholders			526,454,180						42.28
	GRAND  TOTAL			1,245,147,460						100.00

 

END

 

 

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