ERA reports Q3 Ranger output boost
16 October 2007
Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) reported a 24% increase in uranium production, to 1363 tonnes of drummed uranium oxide, during the third quarter of 2007, compared with the same period in 2006. The company said the increase was a result of processing of high grade ore made available through the implementation of various water disposal measures and the optimization of the Ranger mine plan. ERA said the amount of ore mined was actually 27% lower, at 702,218 tonnes, but the grade of the ore was 55% higher, at 0.31%. Force majeure, which was declared after flooding at the Ranger mine and processing plant in Australia's Northern Territory in February, will continue to apply to sales contracts in the first half of 2008 as the backlog of deliveries is cleared, ERA said. The company expects 2008 production to be restored to normal levels, subject to a normal wet season. At the end of September, ERA approved an A$57 million ($50.1 million) project to extend the operating pit at Ranger, meaning that mining will now continue to 2012. Studies on a further possible mine extension are under way.
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