Mauritania is developing its first-ever uranium mine—an important milestone for the nation and a significant contribution to the global energy transition. The Tiris Uranium Project, located in the remote Sahara Desert, represents a major uranium resource with 91.3 million pounds of U₃O₈ and the potential to produce 2 million pounds per year over a 25‑year mine life. 

The ore lies within shallow calcrete soils, less than five meters deep, making it accessible through simple free‑digging methods that avoid drilling or blasting. This geological advantage supports low‑cost operations, but the project’s remote desert location demands extensive new infrastructure, careful sequencing of engineering activities, and strong integration with prior feasibility studies to reduce risk and accelerate progress toward construction. 

As global demand for uranium continues to rise with nearly 30% projected growth from 2023 to 2030, projects like Tiris play a growing role in securing low‑carbon energy supply chains. 
The Tiris Uranium Project is operated by Aura Energy, holding an 85% ownership stake, with the remaining 15% owned by the Mauritanian government. It is based on a large calcrete‑hosted uranium discovery that allows cost‑efficient extraction and beneficiation. The mine will operate as a 4.1‑million‑tonne‑per‑year open‑cut project, supported by a processing plant capable of producing up to 2 million pounds of U₃O₈ annually. 

Providing a complete engineering solution

Before onboarding Wood, Aura had completed its Definitive Feasibility Study and FEED. Wood was brought in as the engineering owner’s scope holder to prepare all basic engineering deliverables by Q2 2025, enabling execution readiness and alignment toward full project delivery targeted for Q2 2027. 

Wood’s core responsibility was to deliver the full suite of basic engineering required to initiate detailed design without rework. This included ore processing plant and metallurgical design packages, infrastructure planning for the remote desert site, integration of prior FEED and DFS outcomes into a unified execution plan, and identification of engineering improvements aligned with regulatory and operational requirements.

Performing critical early works and execution readiness

Wood designed and defined early‑works packages that prepared the site for construction beginning in 2026. These activities accelerated mobilization and minimized schedule bottlenecks inherent to isolated mine development. 

An important part of Wood’s mandate was reviewing previously completed work, including DFS and FEED deliverables, to ensure the project advanced with optimized solutions. This included evaluating potential upgrades, improving flowsheets, identifying execution risks, and establishing a clear engineering path from concept to commissioning. 
Wood’s approach was built on creating a robust, scalable engineering foundation tailored for Tiris’s unique conditions. The uranium‑rich calcrete material, which is typically above 2,000 ppm U₃O₈, is highly amenable to low‑cost beneficiation and simple leaching, enabling efficient, low‑energy extraction without drilling or blasting. This supported a processing plant design that minimized operational complexity and environmental footprint. 

All infrastructure, including roads, water systems, power generation and site facilities, had to be built from scratch due to the mine’s remote Sahara location. Wood’s engineering scope ensured these components were fully integrated, reliable and optimized for long‑haul logistics and extreme climate conditions. 
With more than 59.8 million pounds of uranium oxide already defined and additional exploration potential, Wood’s engineering solutions allow for future expansion of production capacity as resources are converted and market demand increases. 

The Tiris Uranium Project is poised to become a key contributor to global nuclear fuel supply, offering low‑cost, low‑impact uranium production with strong expansion potential. Wood’s basic engineering package enabled construction readiness by 2026, reduced technical and schedule risks during execution, ensured long‑life operational reliability and supported Mauritania’s emergence as a uranium‑producing nation.    

With demand for uranium accelerating as countries deepen their renewable‑nuclear transition strategies, Tiris stands to become one of the most strategically important new uranium developments of the decade, underpinned by Wood’s integrated, future‑ready engineering approach.