Kazakhstan plans to launch a large uranium project by 2025. This was reported to LS by the Department of Energy.
According to the department, the Ulba Metallurgical Plant is implementing an investment project to organize a refining* production with a capacity of 6,000 tons of uranium per year. Its launch is scheduled for 2025. Kazatomprom received the technology for the purification and conversion of this raw material from the Canadian company Cameco in 2020.
“This production is intended for the production of uranium oxide. This product is not of a higher processing level than currently produced by Kazatomprom using its own technology. However, the physical and chemical parameters of this product will make it possible to avoid additional processing (purification) of it at factories in convectors and is suitable for direct fluoridation,” the Energy Ministry said.
The ministry added that the country continues to work on the creation of new links in the nuclear fuel cycle. In this regard, in 2021, the Ulba-TVS plant ** for the production of fuel assemblies (FA) for nuclear power plants was put into operation.
In 2022, this plant began to export products to China. Due to this production, the range of uranium products of Kazakhstan with high added value was expanded.
At the same time, in the first nine months of 2022, Kazatomprom exported finished uranium products (nitrous oxide, etc.) to China, the UK, Canada, the USA, Russia, France, Germany and other countries.