Russian Monopoly

Russia retains a monopoly over the uranium conversion infrastructure.   The world’s largest producer and exporter of natural raw uranium is Kazatomprom which has a joint venture with a Canadian firm.Kazatomprom has the largest uranium reserve base in the nuclear industry.Raw uranium has to be refined and enriched in order to be utilised as fuel in nuclear power plants .After the Ukrainian conflict erupted Kazakhtan shipped a shipment of raw uranium to Canada from its in-situ uranium recovery mine , bypassing Russian soil and the Russian Port of Petersburg and going through the jurisdictions of Azerbaijan and Georgia. From the Georgian Port of Poti the uranium may be shipped to Canada. Kazakhstan has no nuclear reactor and exports uranium through long term contracts mostly to China.

Geographical Market Diversification

Kazatomprom’s natural uranium production is in proportion to the company’s participatory stake in 24 % of global primary uranium production. Kazatomprom in tandem with its subsidiaries, affiliates and joint venture partners is developing 26 deposits combined into 14 uranium mining enterprises.The company is seeking new markets to diversify its client base and their geographical location to maximise its revenues and sustain the uranium supply  chain. Kazatomprom preferred clients include a Romanian nuclear power plant as it is responsible for slightly more then 20 % of Romania’s energy production.

 

Courtesy Reuters                                                                                                                          By Nadir Mumtaz