Deal for key deposit runs for four years
Kazakhstan’s national nuclear company Kazatomprom has signed a subsoil use agreement for pilot production at the Inkai 3 deposit.
The company said the signing followed direct negotiations with the ministry of energy.
It said pilot production was approved for up to four years with a total volume of 701 tonnes of elemental uranium (tU) for the period.
The Inkai deposit, one of the key uranium deposits in Kazakhstan, is located in the Suzak district of Turkestan region. Uranium resources at Inkai 3 deposit amount to 83.1 ktU.
Inkai is a key uranium deposit, in the Turkistan region of southern Kazakhstan. The Inkai 3 deposit contains uranium resources of 83,100 tU, Kazatomprom said.
“This licence is crucial for our sustainable development strategy,” said Kazatomprom chief executive officer Meirzhan Yussupov. “Launching pilot production at Inkai 3 will contribute to the social and economic development of the Turkestan region.
“Replenishing our mineral resource base will strengthen our leadership in the uranium industry and help meet the growing demand for clean energy.”
Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, said earlier this year it will not be able to meet its previous production forecasts and has warned that the world may not have enough uranium production to meet global demand after 2030.
Yussupov noted in the company’s 2023 financial report that Kazakhstan accounts for about 40% of the world’s uranium production and that at least every third nuclear reactor in the world runs on Kazakh uranium.
