In mid-November an international mining conference was held in the capital, Nouakchott. The highlight of the event was the announcement of the latest round of uranium reserve estimates for several sites. Forte Energy-an Australian-owned company that has been conducting surveys in Bir en Nar, Zednes region, in the north of the country-estimates uranium ore reserves in the area at 1.33m tonnes. Moreover, the uranium content of the ore is high: Forte estimates that over 2m lbs (900 tonnes) of the element could be extracted from it. The company began drilling on its prospect in late October.

Also in late October another company, UK-based Alecto Energy, was awarded two uranium-prospecting licences in Mreiti (covering an area of 888 sq km) and Wad Mourkba (704 sq km). Alecto also acquired licences to explore for copper and gold. Meanwhile, an Australian firm, Aura Mining, has reported highly encouraging results from its explorations in the Reguibat Craton area in northern Mauritania, which the firm believes contains a large deposit of recoverable uranium, 40m-60m lbs. Aura has a second uranium exploration site in the Fai Est prospecting block, which is at an early stage. There has also been local interest in uranium. An industry newsletter, Africa Mining Intelligence, reported in November that the locally owned Azizi group had joined forces with a French junior mining firm, OSEAD SAS, to establish a new company, OSEAD Mauritania, with a view to exploring for the element in eight prospecting blocks.

The Economist Intelligence Unit expects investor interest in the country's uranium resources to be strong, as the outlook for global demand for the commodity is very promising. We expect world uranium prices to rise from an estimated US$48.3/lb in 2010 to US$70/lb in 2011. China is expected to lead the pick-up in global demand. One likely investor in the development of Mauritania's uranium wealth is a French state-owned mining giant, Areva, which has shared geological data with Forte and has extensive uranium interests in neighbouring Niger. However, the threat from a regional terrorist network, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, will add considerably to the security and insurance costs of any uranium mining venture in the country.