Rio Tinto's Namibian uranium mine hikes output to turn a profit

WINDHOEK, April 25 (Reuters) - Namibia's Rössing Uranium, a Rio Tinto (Hanover: CRA1.HA - news) business, said it has managed to navigate "the worst year of the past decade" for the uranium industry, turning a 2015 loss into a net profit of 107 million Namibian dollars ($8.2 million) in 2016.

Rössing said on Monday that a combination of favourable exchange rates and a 48 percent increase in production from 1,245 tonnes of uranium oxide had helped counter the effects of depressed uranium spot prices, which have rebounded only modestly since hitting a 13-year low late last year.

Built in 1976, Namibia's first commercial uranium mine reported a net profit of N$107 million for the financial year ended December 2016, from a net loss of N$385 million in 2015 and said in its annual report there are no plans to extend the life of the mine beyond 2025. (Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; editing by Alexander Smith)