Laramide Resources has pulled out of a greenfield uranium exploration venture in Kazakhstan, citing policy changes that it says have effectively shut the door on economically viable foreign investment in the country’s uranium sector.

The Toronto, Canada-based company announced on 20 January it has terminated its option agreement with privately held Aral Resources for the Chu-Sarysu Basin project, ending its involvement in what it had previously described as one of the world’s most prospective under explored uranium regions.

The option agreement, which was signed in September 2024, gave Laramide access to 22 exploration licences covering more than 5,500 sq km in the Chu-Sarysu Basin in central Kazakhstan. The region hosts several of Kazatomprom’s largest producing mines and is known for geology suitable for low-cost, in-situ recovery uranium deposits.