Aurora Energy Metals Limited provided a detailed update of project activities relating to the Company's 100%-owned Aurora Energy Metals Project. These activities have been taking place in Oregon and in Nevada. Prior to Aurora management's first site visit after listing in May this year, a desktop assessment was made on alternative locations for the Aurora Energy Metals Project's (AEMP or the Project) plant and tailings facilities.

Previously, when it was envisaged that only uranium would be mined, it was intended to locate all infrastructure proximal to the deposit. Now with the opportunity to produce uranium and lithium (subject to future lithium exploration success) from the Project, a different approach was required to ensure no sterilisation of potential future mineral resources occurs. After consulting with environmental and other technical consultants, inspections were made of various options during the site visit in June and once choices were narrowed down, an investigation into land ownership was launched.

This resulted in the identification of an ideal, flat-lying property running along the Oregon-Nevada border, located in Nevada, just 7km from the town of McDermitt and approximately 12km by road from the Aurora Uranium Deposit. It is only 8km direct from the uranium deposit, presenting the opportunity to develop an in-pit crushing mining operation connected to a plant via a pipeline or conveyor belt, thus removing the need for trucking. The sealed, Cordero Mine Road passes through the property as does a HV transmission line, supplied from the nearby substation less than 500m away from the edge of the property.

Recognising the multiple advantages inherent in owning private land Aurora moved quickly and has recently completed its acquisition, as well as the purchase of a separate house centrally located on the southern edge of the property. The property with the house also has a structurally sound shed, is connected to the power grid and has its own water borehole, just 9km from McDermitt on the sealed Cordero Mine Road and some 12.5km by road from AEMP. The house is an ideal operating base for the forthcoming exploration program and work is already well advanced on making the modifications required.

Diamond core from the 2011 drill program has already been re-located from its previous storage location to a lay down area close to the house. Aurora aims to take advantage of the fact that hydroelectricity makes up more than half of Oregon's electricity generation by designing a mining operation with the smallest footprint possible. Even at the current early stage of development, a largely truck-free, low emissions operation can be envisioned ­ a genuine mine of the future.

This would require a mining operation with in-pit crushing and the use of a pipeline or a conveyor belt to transport ore from the mine to the plant. With this in mind, a transport corridor had to be secured and thus the Company has also staked additional claims to the west and partially to the south of the private land and across the border back to the AEMP. Aurora has given considerable thought to what will be required to fast-track the development of the AEMP, with its location being so close to excellent infrastructure.

The well-defined nature of AEMP's uranium deposit also gives the Project a head start. Whilst the lithium component of the Project is unquestionably early stage, the Company has already developed a clear view of what the future operation should look like and is moving swiftly to put the building blocks in place early to considerably enhance the prospects for future development. Key Points: The 17-hole, Phase 1 RC Drill Program Permit Assessment by DOGAMI is nearing completion.

An application for the Phase 2 RC and Diamond Drill Campaign has been submitted to the BLM. Both phases are designed to explore for lithium and obtain further fresh drill core for uranium metallurgical testwork and Geological field team is on the ground preparing for the commencement of the drill program. Exploration permitting in Oregon on federal land is a two-step process.

Initially, approval from the Bureau of Land Management (the BLM) is required prior to an application being made to the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI). At "Notice" levels of exploration (a basic level), a maximum disturbance of only five acres is allowed and if disturbance is likely to exceed this level, a more thorough Exploration Plan of Operations (EPO) must be submitted. An EPO, which typically requires biological and cultural/archaeological studies, can take up to a year or more to complete, although there is no restriction on the size of disturbance.

Aurora submitted its Notice to the BLM at the beginning of May this year and received approval in mid-June after a site inspection took place towards the end of May. It should be noted that DOGAMI restricts Notice level exploration permits to an area of only 640 acres (one square mile), whilst the BLM who has no such limitation, which explains the unusual shape for Aurora's Phase 1 Drilling Program. The Company finalised its DOGAMI Notice application shortly thereafter and the formal assessment process commenced early in July.

There has been regular contact with DOGAMI and other regulatory bodies to address questions raised and the process is moving into its final stages of assessment with discussions focused on the relevant operating conditions of the permit. The Company has identified the drilling contractor for the Phase 1 RC drilling program, who will only be able to mobilise once the DOGAMI exploration permit is received. In the meantime, the Company's geological field team are on the ground in McDermitt making final preparations for the drilling program including finalising other contractor arrangements (such as downhole logging), logistics arrangements and procurement of materials required to complete the program.

The advance work by the team will ensure the Company can quickly commence the drilling campaign once the final approval is received. Early in August, Aurora submitted its second exploration permit application to the BLM, which incorporates all the remaining RC and DD holes that the Company plans to drill, at this stage, in Fiscal Year 2023. A cultural/heritage clearance of the drill sites (drill pads and sumps) has just been completed and a report will soon be submitted to the BLM.

Once BLM approval for the remainder of the program has been obtained, multiple applications must be made to DOGAMI to accommodate its 640-acre size limitation.