Aura Energy regional representative: Mauritania will be at least the fourth largest producer of uranium in the world

Mauritania is heading to become future uranium producer, thanks to reserves recently discovered by Aura Energy in the Wilaya of Tiris Zemour, in the north of the country.

Tiris Resources, an Aura Energy’s subsidiary operating in Mauritania, has just signed standard form agreements with the Mauritanian government, in order to begin uranium mining operations in the Tiris project.

Today, it is our honour, in TAQA platform, to have with us the founder of Tiris Resources, regional representative of Aura Energy, Mr Sid’Ahmed Mohamed Lemine, who generously granted us the following interview. Our guest is an expert and consultant, who had acquired more than 20 years of experience in the mining sector in Mauritania and in the sub-region.

TAQA : What does the recent signing of financial and legal agreements with the Mauritanian government mean for the development of the project?

We are talking here of the signing of the standard mining agreements. In fact, that’s the key to everything. This is a uranium and vanadium project, (which are radioactive elements), and it will be the first operation of its kind in Mauritania. It will be a great event, especially that we have already completed all the necessary steps with ANARPAM, which is the agency responsible for the management of mining assets. It manages the 15% of the Mauritanian State’s participation.

So, the signing of this agreement represents a sort of assurance, which precisely guarantees the relationship between Tirs Ressources as a company and the Mauritanian state. Generally speaking, this agreement preserves the rights of both the company and the Mauritanian state for a long time.

This is the final agreement, the last to be signed before the launch of exploitation activities. The ball is currently in our court. We still need a few permits and authorizations, such as export authorization and others, which should normally be issued by the Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARSN). Thereupon we work in close collaboration with this authority and with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

TAQA : What are the next steps leading to the effective start-up of the “Tiris uranium” project?

For the time being, we are preparing for the first Board of Directors meeting, which will be held at the end of March. This meeting should decide on the launching of the system of investment research. Normally, more than 100 million dollars will be needed to start the project. And just before the end of this year, we will start the works on the field, specifically the installation of the plant camp, water sources and so on. These activities should, normally, take 18 months. It will be at the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025, that the first export will take place.

TAQA : How would you classify the Tiris Uranium Project regionally and internationally, in terms of reserves and production capacity?

The Tiris Project now has about 65 million pounds of uranium and 18 million pounds of vanadium. Such reserves are considerable and have especially very high grades of uranium. Thus, we find, generally, grades of this ore between 350 and 450 PPM. This grade will be  seven times higher after the enrichment process. Therefore, the grade can, at the end, reach between 2700 and 2800 PPM.

We hope that production will start with 800 thousand to 1 million pounds per year. After 3 years, production will be increased to 3.5 million pounds per year. We predict that within a few years, Mauritania will be at least the fourth largest producer of uranium in the world.

TAQA : Have you already made a decision regarding the transportation and export of the production?

Yes, of course. You know that the project site is situated at 650 km from the town of Zouerate. So we will have to transport the barrels containing the production by truck to a warehouse near the town. Previously, we thought that we could transport the product to the port of Nouadhibou, through the railroad in collaboration with SNIM, but discussions with SNIM have not been too successful so far. So, now we consider two options: either to transport the product by truck to the port of Nouakchott or to the port of Tanit.

It is true that transport will be the most expensive component of the project, but despite this it will still be beneficial.

TAQA : What measures have you taken to protect the environment from the possible effects of uranium mining activities?

First of all, our ore will be produced as it is. That means, the uranium oxide in its natural state. Second, for almost 12 years, we have been working there in the same area, without ever having to report any single incident. We have dosimeters to measure the radiation. In fact, each person on the site has his or her own dosimeter; workers, cooks, engineers, technicians, etc. With all of these measurements, we have never had an incident. With all these measurements we have never had a radiation problem. Every month we collect the data from these dosimeters and bring them back to ARSN, and we always get negative results. Our employees have personal protection equipments that can be used only once. We have all the necessary provisions to protect our employees.

On the other hand, our site is in an arid area, 450km from the city of Bir Oum Grein, which is the nearest city. So, whatever the conditions could be, there will be no incidents on the populations. 

At the environmental level, we are taking into account the rehabilitation and reclamation of the site. There will be no explosives, no crushing, no drilling, just a simple operation with a maximum depth of 8m. We take the initial product as it is to extract only 14% of it, and return the remaining 86%, for the rehabilitation and reclamation of the site. In addition, we have a reforestation project as we go along, to preserve the fauna and flora. We care a lot about fauna and flora. That’s exactly why we work with the Mauritanian Institute for Scientific Research (IMRS) to preserve that aspect of ecosystem there. To sum up, we have taken all possible measures to protect the environment.

In the same context, we are in partnership with the Australians who have a rich experience in this field. In Australia, there are uranium mines next to populated areas, but there has never been any incident on the populations.

TAQA : Do you think that the percentage granted to the State in the project was reasonable, in comparison with the practice established in the regional and international context in this field?

Regarding any operation here in Mauritania, the mining law only requires 10% free carried interest for the state, plus 10% that the state can invest in the project. But we were able to agree to give 15% for the state, in order to show the goodwill of our partners in this field.

So, it is new that Mauritania has such a free participation in any mining project. In addition, and thanks to the professionalism of our partners, we have decided to give 2% of the company’s profits to the local community living in the area closest to the site of project.

I would also like to add that we have already carried out many humanitarian works and assistance actions for the benefit of the local community, even before the start of the exploitation of the project.

TAQA : How do you expect the Tiris uranium project to contribute to job creation for the national workforce?

Our project staff are people who already have over 40 years of experience in the uranium sector. For instance, the director of the Tiris project is an Australian who has a rich and profound experience in three different uranium projects; in Australia, Canada and Kazakhstan. During his management of these 3 projects, he has always put into place a system for nationalization of jobs in these projects. So we have strict measures in this area. We will select some engineers and technicians, three months before the launch of the project, to train the local workers, so that the operational work will start with a Mauritanian team. Nearly 90% of the team that will start the exploitation work (between 100 and 150 employees), will be Mauritanian.

TAQA : Do you think that new uranium reserves will be discovered in the areas situated near the Tiris project site?

Aura Energy is a group made up of several subsidiaries, including four subsidiaries for uranium operating the Tiris region. Just last year, we intensified our research in the Tiris project, which allowed us to increase the reserves by 20%.

However, as the deposit is very dispersed in nature and the number of licenses authorized for one company is limited, we decided to create new subsidiaries to intensify the research in the area. We will continue the exploration and there will definitely be new discoveries in the vicinity of the project site. Perhaps it will be at a distance of 30km, 40km, or 60km. Nonetheless, we are very confident that the reserves will be numerous there.