ERA blames water woes for production slump
Charlotte Dudley
Mining Net News
EXCESSIVE pit water was blamed for a significant drop in uranium output at the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory.
Detailing its latest quarterly results, Darwin-based Energy Resources of Australia, a part-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, said restricted access to higher-grade ore was the reason for a 31% fall in production rates from the same time last year.
The Ranger mine, some 250km east of Darwin, produced 1030 tonnes of uranium oxide for the June 2008 quarter, down 22% from the previous quarter and down 31% from the corresponding 2007 quarter.
“At the end of the wet season, although water levels in the pit were substantially lower than at the same time in 2007, there was still restricted access to higher-grade ore, which is located predominantly in the bottom of the pit,” ERA said.
The more than 700,000t of ore mined was 2% higher than the same time last year but 13% less than the previous quarter.
However improved plant utilisation and milling rates were credited with boosting ore milled to 568,038t – 2% higher than the corresponding 2007 quarter and 18% higher the previous quarter.
ERA external relations manager Libby Beath said the pit at Ranger was clear of excess water, enabling access to the higher-grade ore – a development reflected in the 0.31% mill head grade achieved in the last two weeks of the June quarter.
“With the pit now dry we expect a similar grade to continue,” Beath told MiningNews.net.
Shares in Energy Resources of Australia rose 54c in morning trading to $24.50 before cooling to $24.25.
Detailing its latest quarterly results, Darwin-based Energy Resources of Australia, a part-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, said restricted access to higher-grade ore was the reason for a 31% fall in production rates from the same time last year.
The Ranger mine, some 250km east of Darwin, produced 1030 tonnes of uranium oxide for the June 2008 quarter, down 22% from the previous quarter and down 31% from the corresponding 2007 quarter.
“At the end of the wet season, although water levels in the pit were substantially lower than at the same time in 2007, there was still restricted access to higher-grade ore, which is located predominantly in the bottom of the pit,” ERA said.
The more than 700,000t of ore mined was 2% higher than the same time last year but 13% less than the previous quarter.
However improved plant utilisation and milling rates were credited with boosting ore milled to 568,038t – 2% higher than the corresponding 2007 quarter and 18% higher the previous quarter.
ERA external relations manager Libby Beath said the pit at Ranger was clear of excess water, enabling access to the higher-grade ore – a development reflected in the 0.31% mill head grade achieved in the last two weeks of the June quarter.
“With the pit now dry we expect a similar grade to continue,” Beath told MiningNews.net.
Shares in Energy Resources of Australia rose 54c in morning trading to $24.50 before cooling to $24.25.