Australian mining group Aura Energy (ASX: AEE) has been toying with a move to London’s Alternative Investment Market for several months but chairman Brett Fraser is in no rush. Instead, he is content to spend time driving forward the company’s uranium projects, one of which could eventually prove to be the second largest deposit in the world. For a company with a market cap of A$25m, the future looks exciting.

Serial entrepreneur Fraser has been behind a string of Australian start-ups and currently chairs three other mining outfits besides Aura, including Drake Resources (ASX: DRK), Doray Minerals (ASX: DRM) and Blina Diamonds (ASX: BDI). After floating gold and base metals business Drake back in 2005 and subsequently securing well-known geologist Dr Bob Beeson as MD, the group “ran into” some uranium properties in Western Australia. The resultant spin-off was Aura Energy, which went on to list in 2006 before acquiring acreage in Sweden and the West African state of Mauritania. Fraser concedes that the awareness among UK investors of Sweden and its mineral wealth is one of the reasons why a London listing poses such an attractive prospect.

With a delineated resource of 291 million pounds of uranium, Aura’s wholly owned 110 sq km Häggån Project in the Storsjön district of Sweden is already in the top ten largest undeveloped uranium resources in the world, based on ASX and TSX rules. Fraser thinks that further drilling could easily double that figure. In Mauritania, the company is targeting between 40 – 60 million pounds of uranium at its main Reguibat Craton Project. Exploration drilling is either planned or underway at other projects in both countries; Aura also retains the initial and additional acreage in Western Australia. In an interview with Stockopedia, Fraser set out his plans for Aura in the coming year together with his expectations for uranium projects spanning three continents.

Brett, you have got a great deal of experience in running resource companies. How did you get involved in Aura Energy?

My background has primarily been in private investment and I’ve built companies in a range of sectors. Aura has a sister company called Drake Resources, which was listed back in 2005, and we were fortunate enough to secure the services of Dr Beeson who has a wealth of experience across a range of commodities, including uranium. That has led to a number…

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