Philip Mitchell’s Aura Energy is negotiating with the Port of Tanger Med to use the Moroccan port as a transshipment hub for uranium from its Tiris project in Mauritania, the company revealed in its half-year report ending December 31, 2025.
Aura Energy is seeking approval to handle class 7 materials, which covers radioactive substances including uranium oxide concentrate, or yellowcake. While Tanger Med is the preferred export route, Aura said it is exploring alternative shipping options to global markets in Europe, the United States, and Asia.
The Tiris Uranium Project, located in northeastern Mauritania’s Sahara Desert, is majority-owned by Aura through its subsidiary Tiris Ressources SA, which holds 85%, with the Mauritanian government retaining 15%. The deposit contains 91.3 million pounds of uranium oxide in mineral resources and 33.6 million pounds in ore reserves.
Under Aura’s production plan, Tiris would produce around 1.8 million pounds of uranium oxide annually over a projected 25-year mine life. Uranium would be transported under armed escort from the mine to Nouakchott, the country’s capital, before shipment to international converters. Production is expected to start in 2027 if development proceeds on schedule.
The mining process at Tiris is shallow, with calcrete-hosted mineralization less than five meters deep. It does not require drilling, blasting, crushing, or grinding. Ore is upgraded six to eight times through wet screening before entering an alkaline leach plant.
Aura projects a post-tax net present value of US$499 million, an internal rate of return of 39%, and an all-in sustaining cost of US$35.7 per pound. The company targets a final investment decision in the third quarter of 2026, following a delay from 2025 caused by a technical challenge separating uranium-bearing solutions from clay-rich residues during the leaching process. Four dewatering methods are now under testing.
Discussions with the US International Development Finance Corporation are ongoing, moving toward a credit determination. The agency, reauthorized for six years in December 2025 with an investment cap of US$205 billion, requires finalized construction contracts and detailed operating plans before funding.
Aura signed a long-term offtake agreement in August 2025 with a major US nuclear utility covering roughly 10% of Tiris output from 2028 to 2031. While the agreement’s condition requiring a 2025 FID was not met, both parties held discussions in London to maintain the contract.
Financially, Aura held AUD 4.2 million (approx. US$2.7 million) in cash at the end of December 2025 and raised AUD 20 million (approx. US$12.8 million) in February 2026 through a share placement at AUD 0.205 per share. The company reported a half-year net loss of AUD 6.7 million (approx. US$4.3 million).
In September 2025, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani met with Aura’s Executive Chair, reaffirming full government support for the Tiris project.
The proposed use of Tanger Med for uranium exports marks a significant step for Aura, linking Mauritania’s strategic mineral resources to global nuclear energy markets while leveraging Morocco’s position as a key North African maritime hub.
