Energy Resources of Australia uranium output hits record in 3 mths to Dec

Energy Resources of Australia uranium output hits record in 3 mths to Dec

	Published : Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:24 By : Agencies Print this Story

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Energy Resources of Australia Ltd said it achieved record quarterly production of uranium oxide at its Ranger mine in Australia's Northern Territory in the three months to December as higher grade ore was mined.

ERA, majority owned by Rio Tinto, said the Ranger mine produced 1,662 metric tons of uranium oxide in the fourth quarter, up three pct on a year earlier.

The strong fourth quarter production coincided with rising demand for uranium with the spot market

price at the end of December doubling from a year earlier to 72.00 usd per pound.

ERA's average contractual sales price is only partially influenced by the spot market due to its portfolio of contracts containing a range of pricing mechanisms entered into when the uranium oxide market was considerably weaker.

Despite record output in the fourth quarter, ERA said output for 2006 was 20 pct lower than a year earlier at 4,748 tons, due to an elevated water level in the project's pit, resulting from unusually high rainfall.

ERA said the water level prevented access to high grade ore in the second and third quarters while in the second quarter production was further impacted by a reduction in the volume of ore treated due to difficulties experienced in bringing the project's acid plant back to full production after a planned maintenance shutdown.

It said ore mined in the December quarter increased 107 pct over the corresponding quarter in 2005 as the operation focused on stockpiling sufficient ore to lessen the impact on future production

should the wet season be unusually heavy.

ERA said it is continuing to explore for and evaluate mineralisation within the Ranger project area and has also applied for an exploration licence over the Angela and Pamela uranium deposits, located 25 kilometers south of Alice Springs.

bruce.hextall@xfn.com