Company cites uncertainty on crucial sulphuric acid supplies
Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, has cut its production target for 2025 due to project delays and sulphuric acid shortages, potentially threatening supplies.
The Kazakh company, which generates a fifth of global uranium supply, cut its target for next year by 17% to a range of 25,000 to 26,500 tonnes of yellowcake, or triuranium octoxide (U3O8), a type of uranium concentrate powder used to produce fuel for nuclear power reactors.
The move is likely to put upward pressure on uranium prices, which have softened from a 16-year high above $100/lb this year but remain at historically elevated levels above $80/lb, according to UxC, a uranium pricing data provider.
Meirzhan Yussupov, chief executive of Kazatomprom, said that “the uncertainty around the sulphuric acid supplies for 2025 needs and delays in the construction works at the newly developed deposits resulted in a need to re-evaluate our 2025 plans”.
Sulphuric acid, essential to extracting uranium from deposits, has been in short supply in Kazakhstan because of delays in building new acid plants, competition with the fertiliser industry and trade restrictions.
Kazatomprom said it has a comfortable level of inventories to fulfil its existing contractual commitments in 2025.
“Taking into consideration high level of uncertainties related to the sulphuric acid supply and construction delay challenges, no decision has been taken regarding mine development activity and production volumes for 2026 and beyond,” the company said, adding that it expects to announce its 2026 production plans “not earlier than a year from now”.
