Mauritania’s Tiris is a proposed uranium mine, not an operating producer. Aura Energy’s 2026 annual report describes an 85%-owned project with a 15% Mauritanian government interest, and sets out future targets for investment approval, construction and first production. Namibia is the more mature comparison because it has producing mines as well as projects under development; Tanzania’s Mkuju River remains short of a full mine build, with financing still being pursued in the Ministry of Minerals’ May 2026 update.
How the projects compare by development stage
The most useful comparison is not simply which project reports the largest uranium figure. A mine in production, a project with a mining licence and early works, and a proposed mine awaiting an investment decision represent different levels of development. The table separates reported project figures from actual operating status and future company targets.
| Project or setting | Status in the cited reporting | Ownership, resource or reserve | Development and production outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiris, Mauritania | Development project; not yet producing, according to Aura Energy’s 2026 annual report. | Aura reports an 85% interest through Tiris Ressources SA and a 15% Mauritanian government interest. Its mineral resource is 91.3 million pounds of U3O8, estimated June 2024; its ore reserve is 33.6 million pounds of U3O8, estimated December 2024. | Aura targets a final investment decision by the end of 2026, construction in 2027 and first production around the start of 2029. These are company targets, not completed milestones. |
| Operating mines, Namibia | Established uranium-producing country. The Namibian Uranium Association reports that Langer Heinrich resumed production in 2024; the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s 2025 report provides broader production and project context. | Not stated as a comparable single project ownership or resource figure in the cited country-level production sources. | Existing production makes Namibia a different point of comparison from a proposed mine such as Tiris. Historical production figures in the OECD-NEA report should be read with their stated data year, not as 2026 output. |
| Etango, Namibia | Development project. Namibia’s environmental register records conversion of its retention licence to a mining licence on 31 October 2023; Bannerman Energy’s June 2026 report describes early works and a strategic financing transaction progressing. | Not stated in the cited status sources as a comparable ownership, resource or reserve figure. | A mining licence, early works and financing progress are separate milestones; none alone establishes that commercial production has begun. |
| Mkuju River, Tanzania | Not a producing mine in the Tanzanian Ministry of Minerals’ update of 13 May 2026. A pilot processing plant had been inaugurated in July 2025. | Not stated in the cited ministry update as a comparable ownership, resource or reserve figure. | Mantra was still seeking capital for a full mine and processing plant. The ministry said the mining licence was expected to expire in April 2028. |
What Tiris’s resource and reserve figures mean
Aura Energy’s 2026 annual report lists a Tiris mineral resource of 91.3 million pounds of U3O8, with an estimate date of June 2024, and an ore reserve of 33.6 million pounds of U3O8, with an estimate date of December 2024. The report says neither estimate changed during FY2026. These are company-reported figures; the dates describe the estimates, not a new measurement made in 2026.
A resource is an estimate of mineral material, while a reserve is the portion classified as economically mineable under the assumptions used for the estimate. They are not interchangeable, and the larger resource figure should not be read as the quantity Tiris is certain to produce. The reserve is reported as 62.8 million tonnes at 243 parts per million U3O8.
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The Investment Promotion Agency of Mauritania’s undated mining overview also gives a figure of 100 million pounds of uranium. It does not state an estimate date, classification or project allocation. It therefore cannot be treated as a current, independently classified Tiris resource or added to Aura’s project estimate.
How Tiris is intended to operate
Aura describes Tiris as a shallow open-pit project using alkaline leaching, with a target initial production rate of 2 million pounds of U3O8 per year. That rate is a design target for a proposed operation, not current production. The company’s schedule places final investment decision by the end of 2026, construction in 2027 and first production around the start of 2029; each remains guidance rather than an achieved result.
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The U.S. International Trade Administration’s Mauritania mining guide, last published 10 February 2026, describes Tiris as progressing through permitting and engineering. That context is consistent with a project advancing toward development, but it does not establish that all approvals are complete or that construction has started.
Why Namibia is the strongest African comparison
Namibia differs from Mauritania because uranium production is already established there. The Namibian Uranium Association says Langer Heinrich resumed production in 2024. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s Uranium 2024: Resources, Production and Demand, published in 2025, covers Namibia’s production and wider project pipeline, but its production data are historical and must be read with the data year specified in that report.
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Etango offers a more like-for-like comparison with Tiris as a project still progressing toward a mine. Namibia’s environmental register records its retention licence becoming a mining licence on 31 October 2023. Bannerman Energy’s June 2026 quarterly report describes early works and a strategic financing transaction progressing. Those markers indicate advancement, but they should not be collapsed into a claim that the project is operating or that financing and construction are complete.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Tanzania’s Mkuju River status shows
Mkuju River illustrates why pilot work should not be confused with commercial mine development. In its 13 May 2026 update, Tanzania’s Ministry of Minerals said a pilot processing plant had been inaugurated in July 2025, while Mantra was still pursuing capital for construction of a full mine and processing plant. A pilot facility is not equivalent to a producing commercial mine.
The same ministry update said the mining licence was expected to expire in April 2028. That date is a material part of the project’s development context; the update does not say that full-scale financing, construction or production had been secured.
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Reading the African pipeline without mixing unlike figures
The OECD-NEA’s 2025 report lists producing, idled and development-stage uranium projects across Namibia, Malawi, Niger, Tanzania, Mauritania, Botswana, Mali and Zambia. It is useful for continental context, but the projects discussed do not all have status information from the same date. For current milestones at Etango and Mkuju River, the more recent Namibian register, Bannerman report and Tanzanian ministry update provide the specific status described above.
- Compare production with production, and project resources or reserves with similarly classified estimates—not with a country’s historic output.
- Keep estimate date and classification beside every resource or reserve figure.
- Treat a licence, pilot plant, early works, financing transaction, final investment decision and first production as distinct milestones.
- Read proposed start dates and production rates as targets unless a source reports that the milestone has actually occurred.
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