Resolute’s June quarter – results of which were published Friday – showed gold production of 75,635 ounces at cash costs of $482 per ounce, the second quarter in a row that’s featured relatively low margin output.

However shares in the African-Australian gold miner moved up strongly on Friday and were again up today, with the last line of the company’s quarterly overview perhaps giving a hint as to why: “[Resolute is] developing a proposal to distribute uranium interests to shareholders”

The comment relates to its 50:50 joint venture with Summit Resources taking in the Valhalla and Skal uranium deposits – both in Queensland.

The Valhalla uranium deposit has a drilled indicated resource of 11.5 million tonnes containing 36.5 million pounds of uranium oxide, with an inferred resource of over 55Mlbs. Some 5000 metres of resource extension drilling plus metallurgical testwork is planned this year.

The Skal uranium deposit, 10 kilometres east of Valhalla, has a drilled indicated resource of 2.7Mt containing 7.6Mlbs of uranium oxide, with an inferred resource in the order of 10Mlbs – according to Summit. Here, 3000 metres of resource drilling will be carried out to define and expand this resource, along with metallurgical testwork.

What the market is perhaps starting to make of all this, in respect of Resolute, is perhaps best represented by the share price performance of Summit over the last 12 months.

In a word Paladinesque! Last October the stock was at 4.6c. Today it reached 73.5c.

In the same period, Resolute has had a 12-month high last November of $1.69, and a 12-month low in May (2005) of 85.5c.

Late last week the stock was at around $1.03. On Friday it gained some 7.5c and in midday trade today was up another 4.5c at $1.15.