KYIV. Aug 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, the Energy Ministry of Kazakhstan and Kazakh National Nuclear Company Kazatomprom have agreed to establish a joint venture (JV) for uranium mining in both countries, Ukrainian Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk has said, commenting on the results of his visit to Kazakhstan in mid-August.
“Kazakhstan has the best desalination technology in uranium mining. We’ve agreed that they will create a joint venture and begin to work on our deposits. They will give one deposit in the territory of Kazakhstan to the joint enterprise,” he said on the air of TV Channel 112.
Nasalyk said the cost of uranium ore in Kazakhstan is $30 per tonne, while Ukraine buys 1,500 tonnes per year at $120 per tonne.
The Ukrainian minister said Kazakhstan is ready to buy about 750 tonnes of ion exchange resin from Nuclear Fuel state enterprise.
According to him, Kazakhstan also invited Ukraine to join the construction of a plant for production of fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants, which would become an alternative to Russia’s TVEL.
