Energy Resources To Restart Ranger Mine Operations, Expects Narrower Loss

Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) unit Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ERA.AU) said Tuesday that it will resume operations at its Ranger uranium mine from mid-June after an extended shutdown due to high levels of water, although it will take about a month for its processing plant to return to normal production levels.

The company said it is now expecting a narrower loss for the first half of the year, of between A$20 million and A$30 million, compared with a forecast in April for a loss of between A$30 million and A$50 million.

ERA, which is majority owned by London-based Rio, in late January said it would suspend processing operations at Ranger for 12 weeks to ensure levels in its mine waste storage site remained below an authorized operating limit through Australia's wet season.

In mid-April, it extended the closure until late July to allow water built up at the mine to reduce.

The company produced 1.14 million pounds of uranium oxide in the first three months of the year, down 42% from the same period a year earlier and 56% lower on quarter.

-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]