By Ben Sharples
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Energy Resources of Australia Ltd., producer of about a 10th of the world’s mined uranium, said second-quarter output rose 44 percent because of higher grades of ore extracted and the processing of more material.
Uranium oxide production increased to 1,481 metric tons, or 3,266 million pounds, from 1,030 tons a year earlier, the Darwin-based company said in a statement filed to the Australian stock exchange today.
Energy Resources, controlled by Rio Tinto Group, is expanding its Ranger mine in the Northern Territory as global demand for uranium from power utilities rises. A proposal to build a plant to extract uranium oxide from stored low-grade ore will undergo environmental assessment, the company said May 19.
Energy Resources rose 2.8 percent to A$21.69 in Sydney trading at 10:07 a.m. as the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1.4 percent.
Output was 22 percent higher than in the first quarter of this year because of better access to the open pit after the end of the wet season, Energy Resources said today.
Construction of the underground exploration project at an area known as Ranger 3 Deeps may start in the first half of next year, Energy Resources said April 15. The estimated 34,000 tons of uranium oxide resources at Ranger 3 Deeps helped more than double total resources at Ranger to 115,000 tons last year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net.
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