UPDATE: Energy Resources Of Australia: 2010 Production In Line With Previous Years

Mine production during 2010 should be in line with previous years, Australia's largest uranium miner Energy Resources Australia Ltd. (ERA.AU) said Friday.

The production will be "significantly weighted to the second half of the year," the company said in a presentation, as mine sequencing starts to provide higher-grade products.

However, ERA warned that the strength of the Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar and the direction of market uranium prices could pressure revenues.

Spot uranium prices, which account for around a quarter of global trade, have trended downwards in recent months but Credit Suisse analysts predict a pickup in the second half of the year as power utilities look to fill uncovered requirements for 2011 and 2012.

At 0050 GMT, ERA shares were up 52 cents, or 3.3%, at A$15.91.

ERA accounts for around 10% of global uranium mine production. It produced 5,250 tons of uranium oxide in 2009 from its Ranger mine 260 kilometers east of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory, earning A$768.3 million in revenues and a net profit of A$72.6 million.

-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]