ENERGY Resources of Australia has lifted the lower end of its 2012 production forecast despite delivering a dip of more than 40% quarter-on-quarter in uranium oxide production from its Ranger mine in the Northern Territory.

The uranium miner reported production of 612 tonnes of uranium oxide for the March quarter, down 41% from its December 2011 quarter production of 1030t, due to lower mill head grade.

The company was dogged by high rainfall at Ranger and access to high-grade ore was restricted due to the water level in the pit. 

With ERA unable to access the high-grade ore located at the bottom of the pit, the ore milled during the quarter was sourced from stockpiled material. 

Despite this, ERA expects to restart mining at Ranger pit 3 by the end of this month, which is earlier than previously estimated, with dewatering of the pit expected to be wrapped up by July.

ERA advised that production for the current quarter would be around the same level achieved for the March quarter as the company would have to wait until dewatering was complete before accessing high-grade ore at the bottom of the pit. 

In the meantime, the uranium miner has revised its 2012 production guidance to the range of 3200-3700t from its previous guidance of 3000-3700t, in light of the earlier than expected restart of mining at the Ranger pit 3. 

However, the company said 2012 production remained highly dependent on the level of rainfall for the remainder of the year. 

It advised that almost 1500mm of rain fell at Jabiru airport from September 1 last year to April 9. 

During the March quarter, ERA spent $A8 million on exploration, compared to $3 million in the corresponding period of 2011, and $5 million in the December 2011 quarter. 

ERA is planning to spend $40 million to undertake an exploration program on highly prospective and underexplored areas of the Ranger project area from 2012 to 2014. 

Shares in ERA have climbed 1.5c to $1.275 in late morning trade.