Shares in industrial minerals minnow Arafura Resources have risen after the firm announced a major resource upgrade at its rare-earths uranium project in the Northern Territory, following drilling and costeaning activity on the project.

The company outlined total resources of 30.3 million tonnes at the Nolans phosphate-hosted deposit, which the company said was a 62.9 per cent increase on the previous estimate of 18.6 million tonnes, published in November 2005.

Of the measured resources, all within the central north zone of the deposit, 83 per cent of the identified resources are within 150 metres of the surface.

For the remainder, 96 per cent of the identified resources are within 130 metres of the surface.

Shares in the company were up 0.5 cents, or 1.69 per cent, to 30 cents at 9.02am.