Uranium resources at parts of Extract Resources Ltd.'s (EXT.AU) Rossing South deposit have been upgraded ten-fold to make the site one of the world's top six uranium deposits, the company said Wednesday, potentially enhancing its corporate appeal.

The Perth-based company said that indicated resources--the most accurate broad measure of underground material--showed 257 million pounds of uranium oxide at zones one and two of the site in Namibia.

The positive development wasn't entirely surprising, given that Extract last year booked inferred resources of 228 million pounds that needed to be upgraded to indicated resources.

Inferred resources, including from zone three and four, currently amount to 110 million pounds, meaning Extract could potentially have an indicated reources over 350 million pounds if those resources are upgraded too.

The overall deposit was upgraded 37%, the company said in a release to the Australian Securities Exchange. Its shares added 0.5% Wednesday in an overall S&P/ASX 200 down 1.9%.

Managing Director Jonathan Leslie said that once in full production, a related uranium mine could become the second-largest producer in the world.

The world's three most productive uranium mines are presently BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP.AU) Olympic Dam in South Australia state, Rio Tinto Ltd.'s (RIO.AU) Ranger mine in Australia's Northern Territory, and Rio's Rossing mine neighboring Extract's Rossing South site.

Extract last year hired Rothchild to conduct a strategic review of its business. Options it may be considering include building a stand-alone mine, forming a joint venture with the nearby Rossing mine or bringing in more strategic investors, the company has said.

Rio Tinto owns about 15% of Extract but U.K.-based Kalahari Minerals Ltd. (KAH.LN) is its biggest shareholder with 40%.

Japan's Itochu Corp. (8001.TO) recently took a 10.3% stake.

-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 2 8272 4689; david.fickling@dowjones.com
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