Australia's ERA 2006 net profit up 7.1 pct on higher uranium prices |
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Published
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Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:53
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SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Energy Resources of Australia said net profit in the year to December 2006 rose 7.1 pct to 43.6 mln aud from 40.7 mln in the previous year due to higher uranium prices received for ore from its Ranger mine in Australia's Northern Territory.The Rio Tinto majority-owned miner said the uranium oxide price received in 2006 rose to 18.36 usd per pound compared to 16.00 usd in 2005, while ore sold climbed 1.3 pct to 5,760 metric tons.ERA said it expects sales in the current year to be similar to that of last year and uranium prices in 2007 to continue rising in light of increasing global demand.It said production from the Ranger mine in 2006 dropped 19.7 pct to 4,748 tons due to elevated water level in the pit from the high-rainfall wet season, preventing access to higher-grade ore in the second and third quarters.Second quarter production was further impacted by setbacks in bringing the acid plant back to full production after a planned maintenance shutdown.Meanwhile, the miner said exploration will be undertaken this year to expand the present operating pit, with the potential to extend mining operations from 2008 to 2011.ERA said it has also approved capital expenditure of 13.2 mln aud to construct a radiometric sorter which will allow an additional 1,100 tons of uranium oxide to be extracted from low-grade material over the years 2008-2013.Rio Tinto is due to release its annual profit report later today at 5.00 pm Sydney time (0600 GMT).(1 usd = 1.29 aud)paul.daniel@xfn.com
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Rio Tinto decides to keep idled US uranium property - report 