ASTANA – The volume of Kazakhstan’s uranium transportation via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) increased by 4.5% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the Energy Ministry’s report on the implementation of the concept for the development of the fuel and energy sector for 2023, published on May 2.
Photo credit: futurefuels.in
Starting in 2018, Kazatomprom national atomic company has been supplying uranium products through the territory of Azerbaijan using TITR. In 2023, for the first time, shipments worth 308 tons were made through the territory of Azerbaijan to the United States.
Last year, 2,300 tons of uranium were transported through Azerbaijan to France, Canada, Romania, India and the United States, 4.5% more compared to 2022, according to the report.
In 2023, some 21,112 tons of uranium were mined in Kazakhstan.
According to the report, as of the beginning of 2023, the proven reserves of uranium are estimated at 990,000 tons in Kazakhstan. Kazatomprom plans to conduct a preliminary assessment of the cost of constructing a conversion plant.
According to the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund, the question of whether it is feasible to construct a uranium conversion plant will come up after the Ulba Metallurgical Plant’s refining production begins commercial operation in 2026. Samruk Kazyna added that the cost of uranium conversion services and the state of the market will be the decisive factors.
Kazatomprom obtained the rights to use technologies from Canadian company Cameco Corporation for uranium conversion and refining after signing an agreement to restructure their joint venture Inkai, where the national uranium company controls 60%, as Canadian partners – 40%.
