The Swedish parliament has voted to overturn a ban on mining uranium, with Australian project developer Aura Energy Ltd (ASX: AEE) welcoming the news.
Aura Energy is the owner of the Häggån polymetallic mining project in Sweden, which the company says contains more than 800 million pounds of uranium.
Vote unlocks new options
Aura executive chairman Phil Mitchell said the vote in the Swedish parliament was naturally positive for the company, and it looked forward to becoming a supplier into what was an increasingly demand-driven nuclear energy market.
Mr Mitchell said in a statement to the ASX:
This vote means that from now on uranium has the potential to be an important contributor to Sweden's economy and energy security, and to support the region's intention to triple nuclear power. Given that Sweden has 27% of Europe's known uranium within its bedrock, the commercial potential is significant. For polymetallic projects such as Häggån, 100% owned by Aura, the change in legislation has the potential to add substantial value and reinforce investor interest in continuing to develop the Häggån project.
Aura said in its annual report that the Häggån project had the potential to be a globally-significant mine, which, in addition to uranium, would produce vanadium, zinc, nickel, and potash.
The project would have a mine life of 17 years and a payback period of 1.5 to 2 years, the annual report says.
The report goes on to say:
The Häggån project has the potential to become a cornerstone of Sweden's future nuclear energy supply chain and a key contributor to the European Union's critical minerals strategy.
Mr Mitchell said in the statement to the ASX on Thursday that it made sense to process the uranium at its project, which otherwise would have been treated as a waste by-product.
He added that the company would increase its investment in exploration activity in Sweden following the ban being revoked.
The Swedish ban on uranium mining will be lifted on 1 January 2026.
Aura also has African interests
Aura Energy also owns an 85% stake in the Tiris uranium project in Mauritania, which the company is also developing as a future supplier of uranium.
The project has an expected mine life of 25 years and is expected to produce 43.5 million pounds of uranium over that period.
The payback period for the Tiris mine is expected to be 2.25 years.
Aura Energy shares traded as high as 24.5 cents on the news out of Sweden, before settling back to be 0.9% higher at 22.2 cents.
The company was valued at $202.1 million at the close of trade on Wednesday.
