Iodine supplier soars on contract extension

Shares in London-listed iodine supplier Iofina jumped 4% today after the firm, which is benefiting from rising prices for the element during Japan's nuclear crisis, won a big new extraction contract.

Off the back of soaring demand for anti-radiation tablets in Japan and further afield, chief executive Lance Baller said the Fukushima crisis meant there had "never been a more important time for iodine producing companies".

Last week he told the Evening Standard of Iofina's plans to massively increase production.

Today the group which makes most of its revenues by stripping iodine out of brine produced from mature oil fields signed a deal with US group High Sierra Energy, giving it access to another 12,000 barrels per day of brine.

That's a big jump for Iofina, which currently extracts only 5500 barrels of brine a day.

The firm added that the new site, in Wyoming, has capacity to ramp its throughput up to 60,000 bpd. Iofina is paying the full cost of installing its technology and giving Sierra a "portion" of the revenues made from the raw iodine.

Baller added: "Today's agreement represents a significant step forward for Iofina.

"We are excited to be working in new iodine rich regions [and] remain tightly focused on securing additional third party brine stream agreements to expand our iodine production."

Shares rose almost a penny to 24.2p.