Johannesburg — URANIUM producer Uranium One's share price leapt 7,7% to R19 on the JSE yesterday after it announced an 18% rise in uranium output from its Kazakhstan mines in the June quarter over the March quarter.

The company's stock fell to a six- month low of R13 last month after reports that it was one of several foreign investors implicated in the misappropriation of state assets by a Kazakhstan official.

The share price has not yet recovered to its previous level of R28 before the news, despite the Kazakh government confirming later it would enforce contracts with foreign mining companies.

Uranium One also reported larger uranium resources at its South Inkai mine than previously known. It said South Inkai was now known to contain 39,6-million pounds of indicated uranium resources and 44,4-million pounds of inferred resources, which have less economic certainty than indicated resources.

Previously, it announced a total inferred resource of 62-million pounds of uranium at South Inkai.

The company said its attributable production of uranium from Kazakhstan was 833900 pounds in the June quarter from 708500 pounds in the March quarter. More than half of this came from the Akdala mine as the South Inkai mine was still ramping up to full production.

Uranium One said South Inkai's ramp-up was proceeding in line with expectations.

But precommercial production from the company's third project, at Kharasan, was underperforming, and a new management team was dealing with the problems.

Regulatory approvals were still being awaited to complete the acquisition of Karatau as well as the $270m capital raising announced this year through a private placing of Uranium One shares with a Japanese consortium, management said.