China replaces Russia in Kazakh uranium mines

Russia’s nuclear giant Rosatom is selling stakes in its uranium mining operations in Kazakhstan to Chinese companies, the main Kazakh uranium company said Tuesday, underscoring Beijing’s growing clout in central Asia.

“Kazatomprom announces the exit of its Russian partner from some joint ventures,” said a statement from the world’s largest uranium mining company, which mines the crucial metal at 26 sites in Kazakhstan, which borders Russia and China.

The statement said Uranium One Group, part of Rosatom, sold 49.99 percent of its shares in Kazakhstan to Astana Mining Company, whose parent company is China’s State Nuclear Uranium Resources Development (SNPTC). Kazatomprom maintains its 49.99 percent stake in the venture.

In addition, Uranium One Group “is expected” to sell 30 percent of Khorasan-U and Kyzylkum LLP to China Uranium Development Company, whose ultimate owner is China General Nuclear Power Corporation”.

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“The company welcomes new partners and wishes success in joint work,” said Kazakhstan, the world’s leading uranium producer of uranium, accounting for 43 percent or 21,227 tonnes in 2022, according to the latest figures from the World Nuclear Association.

Rosatom’s replacement by Chinese companies symbolises Beijing’s growing presence in the former Soviet republics of central Asia and Moscow’s waning influence.

Kazatomprom also said Tuesday that it “has launched a large-scale exploration program” to find new deposits, and that it has received licences to explore fours sites that are estimated to have total reserves of more than 180,000 tonnes of uranium.

While rich in uranium, Kazakhstan has insufficient power generation and plans to construct a nuclear plant near Lake Balkhash in the south of the country, with Chinese, Russian, French and South Korean companies lining up to bid on the project.