The resource calculation undertaken by independent resource consultants, Hellman & Schofield Pty Ltd (H&S) included for the first time, the western section of the core permit area.

What is even more significant is that even after the resource upgrade at Häggån Project, the potential for further resource expansions is strong given drilling that has been used in this resource statement covers only 15% of Aura Energy’s permit areas at Häggån.

The resource also renders the Häggån Project a major depository of valuable co-metals. The Project contains 580,000 tonnes of nickel and also 383,000 tonnes of molybdenum, both important metals used in the steel industry.

On a global scale these are also exceptionally large resources.

The vastness of the resource has caught Aura Energy's managing director Bob Beeson by surprise, "when we designed the drilling programme last year we anticipated good results but this outcome has substantially exceeded our expectations.”

The Häggån Project forms part of a large uranium field in Central Sweden. The uranium occurs with molybdenum, nickel, vanadium and zinc in black shales. The shales form a near continuous sheet throughout the part of the project that Aura has drilled, with thicknesses ranging between 20 metres and more than 250 metres.

Managing director, Bob Beeson said, "This resource upgrade demonstrates the vast size of the uranium mineralisation in the Häggån Project. The mineralisation occurs as a thick, flat lying sheet of multi-metal mineralisation and further major resource upgrades are anticipated.”

Based on all of the Häggån assays data to date, H&S has established a total resource estimate for the deposit reported in accordance with the JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) Code and Guidelines.

H&S has used the method of ordinary block kriging to estimate grade and tonnage and considers that the drilling density and assay quality is of a standard that qualifies the estimate as an Inferred Resource.

Aura recently reported highly encouraging initial results from the second phase of its bioleach testwork on the Häggån deposit. This testwork is aimed at proving up a low cost extraction process.

• Chemical analysis and testwork have demonstrated that the mineralisation is acid-generating, facilitating metal leaching
• First small-scale column leach tests have indicated up to 75% uranium extraction
• In addition, significant extraction s of other metals has been achieved:
• Nickel up to 65%, zinc to 60% and molybdenum to 25%
• There is considerable scope for increasing these extractions, for example, by crushing to finer size.

Work on optimising uranium recoveries and mining scoping studies continues and will expand to include the new resource areas.

Analysis

The resource upgrade to 631 million pounds of uranium is massive and underlies the under-valuation of Aura Energy on an EV/Resources basis against its peers. Add in the co-metals of 580,000 tonnes of nickel and also 383,000 tonnes of molybdenum, and the value of the project relative to Aura Energy's valuation looks out of sync. While the uranium sector has had its challenges, the Häggån deposit also contains significant molybdenum, nickel, vanadium and zinc in black shales. By any order, the resources at Häggån are exceptional.

Chemical analysis demonstrated that the mineralisation is amenable to the generation of acid by bacteria, facilitating metal leaching - with small scale column leach tests indicating up to 75% uranium recovery.

Other significant extractions included nickel up to 65%, and zinc up to 60%.

More importantly - Aura said there is considerable scope for increasing recoveries such as using a finer crush, with further work planned on this potential low cost process route.

Bob Beeson, managing director, said that the results are a major breakthrough for the main project of the company.

“We knew that Häggån mineralisation had the potential to be amenable to bioleaching from research results reported in August last year, but these results are the first confirmation that bacterial heap leaching may be successful.

“To obtain 75% uranium extraction in the first column tests is well beyond our expectations."

Aura will now focus on improving extractions and determining the optimum conditions that can be used in a mining project.

The latest high grade intercepts included:

- 4.5 metres at 1076 parts per million (ppm) U3O8 from 1 metre;
- 6.0 metres at 1356ppm U3O8 from surface;
- 3.0 metres at 1303ppm U3O8 from 3 metres; and
- 4.0 metres at 1409ppm U3O8 from surface.

Importantly for the news flow of Aura - the company said a JORC Resource estimate is expected early July 2011, to be conducted by Coffey Mining.

Bob Beeson, managing director, is very encouraged by the latest results and said “We are very pleased that we have continued to intersect strong uranium mineralisation throughout our main target areas and we are confident we can establish a resource.'

The positive of the latest hits are that they are in line with previous results and support the potential for the project envisaged by Aura at the completion of the 2010 drill program.

The program was extensive, covering more than 2000 holes, with the majority at Reguibat.

Drilling covered all of Aura’s wholly owned permits as well as the joint venture permits for over 9,100 metres.

The U308 exploration target at Reguibat is 40 to 60 million pounds, with the company's permits covering an extensive 8400 square kilometres.

Junk has extensive mine planning experience, and was responsible for feasibility studies, project evaluation, production scheduling and mine design with several mining companies throughout Western Australia, including Pilbara Manganese Pty Ltd, WMC Resources Ltd. and Mincor Operations Pty Ltd.

Perkins brings experience from one of the world's largest gold mining companies, AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU), where he was the manager of mining & technology (Australia) until 2006.

Perkins career includes underground mining engineering in South Africa and management of metallurgic operations on the Zambian copper belt.

Bob Beeson, managing director, said that the company was extremely pleased to be able to attract such well experienced mining professionals to the board.

"These board changes reflect the evolution of Aura from being an explorer to a company with two substantial projects that are moving to the feasibility stage."

The latest drilling was designed to define extensions to the existing uranium JORC Inferred Resource of; 291 million pounds U3O8, with the additional data to be used for considering mining options in the Scoping Studies.

The results extend previous mineralisation 400 metres to the south, with the highlight the wide intersection of; 113.5 metres at 170ppm U3O8.

Additional results are expected to be received over the next month, and an updated JORC Resource estimate is planned for July 2011.

The Häggån Project forms part of a large uranium field in Central Sweden, with the uranium occurring with molybdenum, nickel, vanadium and zinc in black shales.

The shales form a near continuous sheet throughout the section of the project that Aura drilled in the company's 2008 and 2010 programs, with thicknesses ranging between 20 metres to more than 250 metres.

In Aura's current progress, the second phase of resource drilling is part of the company’s 2011 program to define the potential value of the vast, multi-metal deposit.

Overall, the program includes drilling, metallurgical testwork, mineralogical studies, and continuing discussions with potential partners.

Highlights include:

 - 3 metres at 2,268 parts per million (ppm) U308;
 - 2.5 metres at 1,859ppm U308;
 - 10 metres at 2,000ppm U308; and
 - 2.5 metres at 1,787ppm U308.

Bob Beeson, managing director, said “Calcrete uranium mineralisation has low mining costs and low strip ratios due to the mineralisation’s close proximity to the surface.

"We do not anticipate having to use drill or blast mining techniques.”

The assay results come from a drilling program completed in February this year that comprised of 2,169 holes over 9,100 metres.

These positive results will provide Aura with the capability to further explore the potential of these deposits, with additional assays pending.

The program had been conducted on the wholly-owned Aura permits as well as joint venture permits.

Aura has a 70% stake in two permits at the 8,400 square kilometre joint venture project with private company Ghazal Minerals holding the remaining stake.

The U308 exploration target at Reguibat is 40 to 60 million pounds.

Forte Energy’s (ASX: FTE) Bir En Nar Project is within 200 kilometres of the Aura – Ghazal joint venture, with the city of Bir Moghrein less than 50 kilometres away.

All of Aura’s Mauritania projects, except one, are located in the north of the country near the borders with Algeria, Mali and Western Sahara.

Aura also has projects in Sweden and Australia.

Kinetic acquired a significant amount of shares in Aura in late 2010, with the share purchases on Tuesday 15th March pushing the stake into the substantial shareholder category.

Aura has been attracting the markets attention after some very promising high grade intercepts recently from the first batches of assays at the Reguibat Project in Mauritania, confirming the extensive nature of the calcrete uranium mineralisation.

Highlights included:

- 4.5 metres at 1863 parts per million (ppm) uranium (U3O8);
- 3 metres at 1312ppm U3O8; and
- 3 metres at 1417ppm U3O8.

Kinetic is focused on small cap investment, targeting companies outside of the S&P/ASX 100, with a market capitalisation of more than $25 million.

The latest key target to be drilled is a substantial landholding of uraniferous shale near the Norwegian border.

Fieldwork in the area has identified a number of radiometrically anomalous zones with a five hole drilling program designed to test more extensively.

Aura said this fieldwork provided evidence that parts of the shale are relatively high grade.

Bob Beeson, managing director, said “The Kallsedet Project contains large areas of mineralised Alum Shale.

"The thicknesses are less than at Häggån, but there may be parts of the shale development that are better grade."

Drilling by Aura will determine the extent and thickness of the polymetallic mineralisation.

The current drilling program is designed to further test these areas and obtain sufficient information to estimate a JORC compliant resource for a portion of Aura’s exploration target, which comprises 40 to 60 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 300 to 450 ppm.

Bob Beeson, managing director, said "We are on track to establish the first calcrete uranium resource in the country within the first half of 2011.”

The drilling program will last up to three months and in addition to the resource drilling is designed to test several radiometric anomalies on permits where drilling has already occurred, as the company has so far tested less than half of its known radiometric anomalies.

In the Ain Sder permit, a new zone containing radiometric anomalies has been identified over 10 kilometres in length, which the company said may contain additional calcrete-type uranium mineralisation.

In other Aura news, it will also drill on its new joint venture permits, Agouyme and Bir Moghrein, where Aura can earn 70% by funding and managing the exploration, with both permits having extensive uranium anomalies defined by an airborne radiometric survey and follow‐up ground surveys.

It also includes one existing permit in the centre of Mauritania, two additional recently granted permits in the north of the country and three applications in the highly prospective Tim Mersoi Basin, which is one of the world’s major uranium producing areas. These are the Ebadargene 1, 2 and 3 projects.

The acquisition gives Aura nine wholly owned permits in Mauritania covering 8500 square kilometres, as well as two recently acquired joint ventures with Ghazal Minerals.

Aura said it can now capture all the upside from the expected delineation of a resource in the first half of 2011 and manage the expenditure commitments to extract best value.

Drilling on the permits is expected to start this quarter and AEE has commenced its due diligence of the company holding the assets.

Aura Energy completed its first drilling programme earlier in 2010 for uranium mineralisation on its joint venture permits on the Reguibat Craton in northern Mauritania.

The first stage of drilling was a significant step towards verifying the exploration target of 40‐60 million pounds of U3O8, at an average grade of 300‐450ppm.

Since the first drilling programme, Aura has identified through radiometric surveys in the eastern sections of some permits additional anomalies which will be drilled in the next programme.

Aura’s current equity holdings in the projects vary between 50% and 56%. Projects include:

- Ain Sder project in north east Mauritania on the Reguibat Craton;
- Oued El Foule Est project in northeast Mauritania on the Reguibat Craton;
- Oum Ferkik project in north Mauritania;
- Fai Est Project in central Mauritania; and
- Recently granted Oum Drouss and Saabia projects in northern Mauritania.


Aura will commence drilling this quarter on the areas which previously reported encouraging exploration results, the new targets and some of the Ghazal joint venture ground.

Aura expects to release a JORC compliant resource in the first half of 2011.

It is not known where the possible purchase could be, but recently Aura has focused heavily on uranium projects in Sweden.

Last week the company announced initial metallurgical testwork of uranium samples yielding recoveries of up to 93%, by using conventional acid leaching methods, from the Häggån Uranium-Molybdenum-Vanadium Project in Sweden, which provides a significant boost for the future of the project.

From the testing, the majority of the uranium was extracted in the first 12 hours of leaching, with this initial success allowing Aura to move to project forward to the next stage.

From the testing, the majority of the uranium was extracted in the first 12 hours of leaching, with this initial success allowing Aura to move to project forward to the next stage.

Aura will now test the effectiveness of the leaching at lower temperatures, as well as the impact of leaching coarser grain sizes, along with other varying key leaching conditions.

Aura also requested the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, (ANSTO) to carry out bottle roll acid tests at lower acidity at minus two millimetres, to continue to assess the amenability of the Häggån sample to heap leaching.

The company commenced bioleaching testwork with the Parker Cooperative Research Centre for hydrometallurgical research in Perth, Western Australia, in late 2009.

Bacterial cultures have been established from three sources: the ore; waters from the project area in Sweden; and from a coal mine in Western Australia, with initial work demonstrating improved extraction rates of uranium, molybdenum, nickel and zinc using bacteria, relative to samples without bacteria.

Consequently, these initial results indicate the Alum Shales within the project are likely to be amenable to bioheap leaching, which Aura said that this extraction method will potentially provide a low capital and operating cost treatment route.

Of major importance, the JORC first inferred resource of 291 million pounds of U3O8 covers only five per cent of total project area, highlighting the projects resource upside potential.

Aura also has other uranium projects in Australia and the highly prospective West Africa region.

Aura has already received firm commitments from sophisticated investors for a placement of 12,484,898 shares at a price of $0.15, to raise approximately $1,872,735 before costs.

Funds raised will be used for further drilling programs located in Sweden’s Alum Shale Province, and the Reguibat Province in Mauritania.

Shaw Corporate Finance is the lead manager.

The pro rata non renounceable entitlement issue will be 1 for 5 at $0.15, to raise approximately $2,871,527 before costs, and will close on 15 October 2010.

Shares in the company have resumed trading this morning, with the last trade at $0.16.

Aura shares were placed in pre-open on Tuesday 14 September, pending the capital raising details, and were expected to resume trading this morning.

As a result of the delay, the shares were suspended.

Aura currently has a market capitalisation of $13 million, with shares last trading at $0.16.

Aura has projects in Sweden, West Africa and Australia.

The main focus is on two main projects; the Storsjön Project located in Sweden’s Alum Shale Province, one of the largest depositories of uranium in the world; and the Reguibat Province in Mauritania.

The current market capitalisation is $13 million.

Aura reported the first bioleach results for its giant Häggån Uranium-Molybdenum-Nickel-Vanadium-Zinc Project in central Sweden indicate that significantly higher extraction of these metals has been achieved compared with non-bioleach reference tests.

The company is currently undertaking a multi-directional metallurgical test programme to determine the optimal uranium extraction route for the project, while also trying to maximise the recovery of co-products.

The Haggan uranium deposit is, in terms of global uranium deposits, one of the largest and has an inferred resource estimate 291 million pounds U3O8 and an exploration target of 800-1200 million pounds. Such is the scale of the Storsjön project, this initial resource still only covers less than five per cent of the project, and yet, already the maiden JORC resource ranks Storsjön in the top ten of the largest uranium resources in the world.

Initial work demonstrates that uranium, molybdenum, nickel and zinc have improved extraction rates using bacteria relative to samples without bacteria.

Results indicate the Alum Shales within the Project are likely to be amenable to bioheap leaching.This method of extraction will potentially provide a low capital and low operating cost treatment route.

Previously Aura has reported conventional acid leach recoveries up to 93% for uranium.

This is an important first step to demonstrate a commercial route for multi-metal extraction of the initial inferred resource estimate compliant with the JORC code of:

- 291 million pounds uranium
- 583 million pounds molybdenum
- 570 million pounds nickel, and
- 4,693 million pounds vanadium

Aura commenced bioleaching testwork with the Parker Cooperative Research Centre for hydrometallurgical research in Perth, Western Australia in late 2009.

Bacterial cultures have been established from three sources: the ore; waters from the Project Area in Sweden; and from a coal mine in Western Australia.

The company said these preliminary small-scale tests are encouraging, confirming that bacterially-assisted leaching of uranium from the mineralisation may be technically feasible.

The initial work using bacteria has also shown, evidence of improved extraction percentages of other metals, particularly molybdenum, zinc and nickel using bacteria relative to samples without bacteria.

Bob Beeson, managing director, commented that these initial results represent a significant breakthrough for the processing of the mineralisation.

“The Alum Shale material at Häggån has characteristics that, we believe, make it amenable to bioleaching technologies. The high sulphur content, which the bacteria use to acidify and oxidise ores, and the similarities to ores being processed by bioleaching elsewhere, were the impetus to commence the testwork programme."

“The initial, qualitative results see enhanced extraction of not only the uranium, but also the molybdenum, nickel and zinc. These metals will add considerable value to the resource if they can be economically extracted."

“We are continuing to investigate bioheap leaching as it will potentially provide a low capital and low operating cost treatment route,” Beeson added.

Aura will now extend bioleaching studies at the Parker Centre to begin heap column tests on fresh samples of crushed core from across the resource. This work is aimed at further increasing confidence in the technical amenability and economic viability of the bioheap leaching option.

Work on pre-concentrating the uranium and other metals for conventional acid leaching will continue in parallel, as will mineralogical analysis, to ascertain the optimum treatment method.

Aura also continues to undertake scoping studies in Sweden. In Mauritania, the next drill programme is expected to commence in September or October 2010 with the aim of establishing a JORC compliant resource statement in early 2011 on Aura’s uranium in calcrete deposits.

The assay results from the remaining 19 holes have confirmed the visual observations that uranium‐molybdenum‐vanadium‐nickel‐zinc mineralisation occurs in a continuous thick sheet throughout the area.

The intersections vary from 25 metres to more than 229 metres in thickness. One drill hole, 31‐10, contains mineralisation from surface to the bottom of the hole at 249 metres, excepting two, six metre, limestone bands.

The average thickness of mineralisation in all drill holes completed in 2008 and 2010 within Aura’s Häggån permit is 108 metres. The permit has an area of 18 square kilometres.

A new area of very thick mineralisation from surface has been identified.

The assays included Hole HG029, which returned an intercept of 105.57m at 160ppm U308 from 98.89m to 204.46m, while Hole HG037 returned an intercept of 115.37m from 72.63m to 188m at 185ppm U308 and Hole HG031 returned 111.16m from 138m to 249.16m at 146ppm U308.

The assay data for all of Aura’s drilling has been provided to the resource consultants, Hellman and Schofield, to estimate an inferred resource.

The estimate is anticipated to be received by Aura before the end of July.

The programme comprised 392 holes, with a total length drilled of 2146 metres.

The majority of these were short, vertical holes, testing near-surface calcretetype mineralisation.

Downhole logging is in progress on site, with the drill samples now being transported to Nouakchott, from where they will be taken by road to the laboratory in Bamako in Mali.

The samples will be prepared and then sent to Canada for assay. Results are anticipated in the second half of February.