Reefton Mining, hitherto a lacklustre diamond prospector in Namibia, has fired up a market glow by announcing 'a new uranium target' in its Erongo polymetallic project in the country's central zone, writes Robert Tyerman.

Bradley Moore, chairman of West Australia-based Reefton, says the company has found four 'radiometric anomalies', which indicate potential uranium, close to mining giant Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine and Paladin Resources' Peter Heinrich uranium deposit. Reefton says it has now begun collecting soil samples and started a drilling programme at Haksteen, one of the four Erongo anomalies, and has hired geologist Dr Christian Schlag, who has worked on several uranium projects for Gold Fields of South Africa.

Shares in Reefton, whose managing director is Australian entrepreneur Vladimir Nikolaenko, have been mostly dismal performers since broker Hoodless Brennan floated the company on AIM three years ago at 3.5p. With soaring oil prices refocusing attention on uranium-fuelled nuclear power, the claimed Erongo find has sent the price up from 2.6p to 6.75p today and speculative spice could persist.