www.auraenergy.com.au
Aura Energy (ASX: AEE) is a uranium explorer with advanced projects in Sweden, West Africa and Australia. The company is focusing 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 highly prospective Reguibat Project in Mauritania. The company aims to create shareholder value by rapidly establishing resources and then completing feasibility studies on these two projects. Aura Energy is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and has been listed on the ASX since May 2006.
Aura Energy acquires GCM Resources' JV stake to extend West Africa uranium assets
Aura Energy (ASX:AEE) has increased its position in Mauritania by purchasing a 100% interest in GCM Resources’s (LON: GCM) subsidiary, GCM Africa Uranium Limited, which holds all of GCM’s interests in the joint venture permits with Aura in West Africa.
The acquisition establishes Aura as one of the largest landowners in Mauritania and covers three key permits in the northeast of the country, where an exploration target has been established.
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.
