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China to boost Kazakhstan uranium
Monday, 11 May 2009 06:51
China and its uranium-rich neighbour Kazakhstan formally announced last Wednesday the establishment of a joint uranium mining venture in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The day before that, the first uranium mine under the joint venture started to operate.
The Semizbai-U joint venture, which was built under a strategic partnership agreement signed in October 2008 between Kazakh national atomic company Kazatomprom and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC), holds two uranium mines, namely Irkol and Semizbai, in Kazakhstan.
The Irkol in-situ leach project is expected to reach its production capacity of 750 t/y within 12 months, with plans for 500 t to be produced in 2009. The mine is forecast to operate for 25 years.
Under the former agreement, all natural uranium mined by the venture, which is 49% owned by CGNPC with the rest held by Kazatomprom, will be delivered to China in the form of nuclear fuel for powering its energy-thirsty economy. This act is seen to bypass China’s traditional fuel suppliers such as France’s Areva.
The establishment of the joint venture is also seen as a part of Kazakhstan’s plan to become the world’s largest uranium producer and expand its presence in markets such as China.
Kazakhstan holds almost 20% of the world's uranium reserves and aims to be the world's number one producer by 2010, overtaking Australia and Canada. Last year, the country extracted around 8500 t of uranium and in 2009 it plans to extract 11,900 t, according to Kazatomprom.
Source: TCE Today
The Semizbai-U joint venture, which was built under a strategic partnership agreement signed in October 2008 between Kazakh national atomic company Kazatomprom and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC), holds two uranium mines, namely Irkol and Semizbai, in Kazakhstan.
The Irkol in-situ leach project is expected to reach its production capacity of 750 t/y within 12 months, with plans for 500 t to be produced in 2009. The mine is forecast to operate for 25 years.
Under the former agreement, all natural uranium mined by the venture, which is 49% owned by CGNPC with the rest held by Kazatomprom, will be delivered to China in the form of nuclear fuel for powering its energy-thirsty economy. This act is seen to bypass China’s traditional fuel suppliers such as France’s Areva.
The establishment of the joint venture is also seen as a part of Kazakhstan’s plan to become the world’s largest uranium producer and expand its presence in markets such as China.
Kazakhstan holds almost 20% of the world's uranium reserves and aims to be the world's number one producer by 2010, overtaking Australia and Canada. Last year, the country extracted around 8500 t of uranium and in 2009 it plans to extract 11,900 t, according to Kazatomprom.
Source: TCE Today