Kazatomprom to increase income from natural uranium output 2.9 times by the year 2015

/INTERFAX-KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty, July 7, 04/ - National atomic company (NAC) Kazatomprom, in accordance with the confirmed by the Government long-term program of Kazakhstan uranium industry development (2004-2015), plans to increase the annual volume of export proceeds from natural uranium sale at foreign markets up to $830 m. by the year 2015. "If we realize everything, Kazatomprom will have about $830 m. of export proceeds only from extraction of uranium, and as the whole we plan to exceed $1 bn.", - said president of Kazatomprom Mukhtar Jakishev on Wdnesday, speaking at the III international scientific-practical conference "Topical problems of uranium industry". At the same time, as he said, in 2003 export proceeds of Kazatomprom from uranium sale was about $290 m. According to materials of Kazatomprom, extraction of uranium in Kazakhstan according to specifications included in the mentioned program on its basic variant and variant of intensive development in the year 2010 will be about 8 th. and 15 th. correspondingly, in 2015 году - about 9 th. and 16 th. At the same time it's expected that in 2005 uranium extraction will be about 4 th. tons. Jakishev said it was planned to increase Kazatomprom's volume of uranium extraction due to increase of extraction at the acting mines, and also due to setting several new mines in operation at a time. It's planned to set in operation about 7 new mines at the fields Mynkuduk and Budyonovskoye, capacity of each mine is about 1 th. tons of uranium a year. Setting in exploitation will require about $50-60 m. of investments. "This is the money, which is easy to find", - Jakishev says. According to his words, Kazatomprom can borrow this sum from potential investors founding JV, and by borrowing syndicated loans and making contracts for future uranium supplies. "We want to realize our program this way: 4 additional blocks are formed at Mynkuduk field and 3 blocks at Budyonovskoye field. We already have a purchaser for one block, who is ready to make advance payment without being an owner. Two more blocks will be presented to strategic partners - Russia and China", - said the head of Kazatomprom. "Besides, there is the agreement, we are going to found JV with Japanese company for the fourth block ", - he said. "If we do not have orders for all 7 blocks, we will set in operation 4 of them", - he said having noted that "7 blocks is the maximum, which we can afford judging on capacities of our human resources, materials and equipment". "After the blocks are set in operation, we plan to hold the second operation of active development of uranium industry, it will take place in 2015, not earlier. Kazatomprom is the state-owned company of Kazakhstan, which was founded in 1997. In 2003 Kazatomprom extracted 2952.4 tons of uranium against 2726.5 tons in 2002. The staff of Kazatomprom comprises Ulba metal plant (UMP, NAC owns in it 90% of shares), Volkovgeologiya (90% of shares), mine group N6, Stepnoye and Tsentralnoye, MAEC-Kazatomprom LLP, High technologies institute LLP. Total number of NAC's employees is 15640 persons. The company owns market shares in joint with foreign companies ventures Katko, Inkai, "UKR TVS and Zarechnoye. [2004-07-08]