First Uranium says SAfrican output delayed further

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Canadian-listed First Uranium (FIU.TO) said on Thursday uranium production at its Ezulwini mine had been delayed further by construction hitches, and output would now start in the first three months of 2009.

The company suffered a previous setback and said in August the late delivery of equipment had delayed the start of uranium production at the mine to October from August this year. First Uranium (FUMJ.J), a unit of South Africa's Simmer & Jack Mines (SIMJ.J), said the next milestone for Ezulwini is the commissioning of the 100,000 tonne per month uranium plant, which is expected to start production early next year.

"The uranium production at Ezulwini mine has been delayed until the first quarter of 2009... our fourth quarter. It is entirely due to construction delays," Gail Strauss, spokeswoman at Simmers said.

First Uranium was not immediately available for comment. The company's main listing is on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) with a secondary listing on the JSE.

First Uranium bought the Ezulwini mine in 2006 after it was mothballed in 2001 following weak commodity prices.

The interest in the mine was boosted by a surge in uranium's spot price, which hit a high of $136 per pound by end-June last year, up from $7 in 2000, on strong demand from nuclear reactors and limited supply.

Uranium's spot price UX-U3O8-SPT has since weakened to $55, partly owing to funds selling their holdings to cover losses in other financial markets, following the global credit meltdown. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; editing by James Jukwey)