Era posts A$271m loss

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia (Era) has made a A$271-million loss in 2016, owing to a A$231-million noncash impairment on the company’s property, plant and equipment during December.

The miner produced 17% more uranium oxide in the year, with output rising to 2 351 t, on the back of higher milling rates and improved recoveries.

However, sales volumes declined from 2 183 t in 2015 to 2 139 t and the average realised price for uranium oxide in 2016 was $41.87/lb, compared with the $51.99/lb in 2015. This negatively impacted on the group's revenue, which fell to A$266-million, from A$333-million in 2015.

Era told shareholders that the uranium market would likely remain challenging in the near term; however, the long-term outlook remained encouraging for established producers.

Era expected its uranium production in 2017 to be between 2 000 t and 2 400 t, with sales to be broadly in line with production.