Australia's Aura Energy to float shares in London by end September

LONDON (Reuters) - Australian uranium miner Aura Energy Ltd plans to list shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange by the end of September and aims to raise 2.85 million pounds, it said on Monday.

The company is already listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of $510.50 million at the close on Friday and said in a statement it would issue new shares in London.

It will use the proceeds from the London listing to fund a potential Mauritania project, which is in the process of a feasibility study that is expected to finish in late 2017, and to develop its mine in Sweden.

Spot prices of uranium, used to make fuel for nuclear power production, have been depressed since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, which led Japan to shut down its reactors and created high stockpiles globally.

Demand is now growing rapidly, however, with China in particular aggressively building reactors, and uranium markets are expected to face a supply shortage by the end of the decade.

Aura Energy's Chairman and Chief Executive Peter Reeve said there was little new investment in the uranium sector and that the expected supply deficit presented an opportunity.

"The market opportunity for the next generation of uranium production projects is clearly evident and the long-term uranium growth fundamentals are highly positive," he said in a statement.

The world's largest uranium producers such as Areva SA and Cameco Corp have said they will hold off on expansion and exploration projects due to low prices, despite forecasts for a supply shortfall.

Aura Energy also holds exploration permits for gold, soda ash and lithium in Mauritania, it said.

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Susan Fenton)