Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s national atomic company, held discussions with Romania’s Ministry of Energy and state-owned company SN Nuclearelectrica S.A. regarding the expansion of natural uranium supplies and the development of the beryllium industry.
A key outcome of the talks was the discussion of terms for a ten-year contract to supply Kazakhstani natural uranium for Romania’s current and planned nuclear power plants. Kazatomprom anticipates that the contract will strengthen long-term cooperation between the two countries and provide reliable raw material supplies for Romania’s nuclear energy sector.
Additionally, the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP), a subsidiary of Kazatomprom, may begin processing Romanian beryllium. Romanian representatives expressed interest in scientific and technical cooperation with UMP and further exploration of processing beryllium raw materials from Romanian deposits. UMP specializes in processing beryllium and tantalum and exports its products globally.
In Kazatomprom’s 2024 report, uranium production (proportional to its ownership share) reached 12.3 thousand tons, marking a 10% increase from 11.1 thousand tons in 2023 and 11.4 thousand tons in 2022. This growth was mainly driven by joint ventures Budenovskoye, Akbastau, and Karatau.
However, production of beryllium products fell to 735.1 tons in 2024, down from 842.8 tons in 2023 and 1,295.4 tons in 2022. Tantalum production also declined, with 135.1 tons produced in 2024 compared to 153.8 tons in 2023 and 165.3 tons in 2022.
Kazatomprom’s 2024 financial report stated that revenue reached 1.81 trillion tenge (up from 1.43 trillion tenge in 2023). The largest consumers of Kazakh uranium and other products included:
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China: 663.7 billion tenge (522.5 billion tenge in 2023)
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Kazakhstan: 336.6 billion tenge (182.6 billion tenge)
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Russia: 253.2 billion tenge (215 billion tenge)
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Canada: 164.9 billion tenge (131.1 billion tenge)
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USA: 140.9 billion tenge (152.5 billion tenge)
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France: 110.9 billion tenge (82.6 billion tenge)
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United Kingdom: 44.7 billion tenge (40.6 billion tenge)
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UAE: 29.3 billion tenge (no imports in 2023)
Other countries purchased Kazakh products worth 69.2 billion tenge, down from 107.6 billion tenge in 2023. Although Romania was not among the largest consumers, Kazatomprom confirmed it continues to supply its products to the country.
