Energy Resources of Australia warned today that recent flooding caused by monsoon rains in northern Australia will continue to restrict its production of uranium in 2012. Production at the company's Ranger mine - which in previous years supplied as much as 10 per cent of the world's uranium - was halted by heavy rains in early in 2011 and did not resume until mid-June.

A second deluge in December that dumped record rains across parts of the tropical Northern Territory meant ERA would be unable to readily mine richer ores at the bottom of the lode, it said.

"As a result, access to the high grade ore located at the bottom of the pit will be delayed and is highly dependent on rainfall experienced for the remainder of the 2011/2012 wet season," said ERA, 68 per cent owned by Rio Tinto but separately listed on the Australian bourse.

For the December quarter, ERA reported a 2 per cent rise in production to 1,030 tonnes versus the previous quarter. Against the same quarter a year earlier, the December quarter yield was down 12 per cent.

Full-year production of 2,641 tonnes matched revised-down production guidance for the year.

In early trading, ERA shares were up 5 per cent at $1.24, buoyed by the modest rise in December-quarter output.

Guidance to come

Guidance for 2012 will be provided when the company reports its annual financial results on Feb 1.

"The delay in obtaining access to the high grade ore... may impact production of uranium oxide in 2012, however, the extent of this impact is presently uncertain," ERA said.

Analyst are expecting the company to show a loss on earnings before interest and tax of around $61 million against a profit of $68.4 million in 2010.

The stock has plummeted more than 80 per cent in the last 12 months, in part due to negative sentiment toward uranium companies following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan last March.