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At the end of the 1950s, large deposits of uranium
were discovered in north-central Kazakhstan and on the Mangyshlak Peninsula
in the west. These discoveries led to the construction of the Tselinnyy
Mining and Chemical Combine at Stepnogorsk and the Prikaspiyskiy
Mining and Metallurgy Combine at Aktau. These two facilities, along
with the Navoi Mining
and Metallurgy Combine in Uzbekistan, were the core of the Soviet uranium
production industry.[1] By the 1990s, uranium extraction
had shifted from conventional
and underground operations around Tselinnyy and Prikaspiyskiy to in-situ
leaching (ISL) operations run by the Stepnoye,
Tsentralnoye, and No. 6 Mining
Directorates in southern Kazakhstan. Tselinnyy, now
foreign-owned KazSabton, processes uranium slurry from these southern
Kazakhstani ISL operations, though its own uranium mines have closed.[2] Prikaspiyskiy, now Kaskor, is no longer involved in uranium mining or
milling.
After Kazakhstan became independent in December 1991,
all uranium exploration, production, processing, and marketing activities
were put under the management of the Kazakhstan State Corporation for Atomic
Power and Industry (KATEP).
These activities were subsequently transferred to Kazatomprom
in 1997.[1] Kazatomprom is the monopoly importer and exporter of uranium in
Kazakhstan.[2]
The state retains ownership over all mineral resources and requires that all
producers have licenses.[3]
Table 1 below shows the organization
of uranium mining and milling enterprises in Kazakhstan. Mining is
conducted by three Kazakhstani mining directorates under the direction
of Kazatomprom. Kazatomprom also owns shares in two uranium mining joint ventures: Katko, a
joint venture with Cogema of France; and
Inkai,
a joint venture with Cameco of Canada. The uranium is processed and
packaged at KazSabton
and the Kara Balta Ore
Mining Combine in Kyrgyzstan.[4] Kazatomprom oversees sales of
uranium product to foreign customers, who include Nukem of Germany, Cameco
of Canada, and Energy Resources of Australia (ERA).[5,6] The Ulba
Metallurgy Plant uses uranium from the southern ISL operations to produce
uranium fuel pellets, after the uranium is enriched at Russian facilities. Uranium concentrate
and by-products of uranium mining are the principal sources of hard currency
for Kazatomprom.[7]
For a comprehensive list of uranium mines in
Kazakhstan, please see "Uranium 1999: Resources, Production and
Demand," a publication by the OECD
Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
TABLE 1: URANIUM
MINING AND MILLING ENTERPRISES IN KAZAKHSTAN
| Enterprise |
Activity |
Uranium Deposits |
Location |
Owner/
Operator |
| Stepnoye Mining Directorate |
mining |
Akdala
Mynkuduk
Uvanas
Zhalpak |
Stepnoye, Shymkent Oblast |
Subordinate
to
Kazatomprom |
| Tsentralnoye Mining Directorate |
mining |
Kainor
Kanzhugan
Moinkum
|
Taukent, Shymkent Oblast |
Subordinate
to
Kazatomprom |
| No. 6 Mining Directorate |
mining |
Irkol
N. Karamurun
S. Karamurun
Kharasan |
Chiili, Kzyl-Orda Oblast |
Subordinate
to
Kazatomprom |
| Joint Venture Inkai |
mining |
Inkay (Inkai)
Mynkuduk |
Stepnoye, Shymkent Oblast |
Cameco
(Canada)/
Kazatomprom |
| Katko Joint Venture |
mining |
Moinkum |
Tsentralnoye, Shymkent Oblast |
Cogema
(France)/
Kazatomprom |
| KazSabton (former Tselinny Mining and
Chemical Combine) |
mining (inactive)
milling |
Grachevskoye
Kamyshovoye
Shokpak
Vostok
Zaozernoye
Zvezdnoye |
Kokshetau and Akmola Oblasts |
Sabton,
Inc., Israel |
| Kaskor JSC (former Prikaspiyskiy Mining
and Metallurgy Combine) |
mining (inactive)
milling (inactive)
|
Melovoye
Tomyak |
Aktau, Mangystau Oblast |
Kaskor JSC |
Kazatomprom, one of the top 10 uranium producers
in the world, intends to increase production through development of new
deposits in the south of the country and through joint ventures with foreign
companies. A Ministry of
Energy and Mineral Resources report forecasted an increase in uranium extraction from
2000 metric tons (t) in 2000 to 3365t in 2002.[1]
Kazatomprom officials point to the opening up
of the US market for Kazakhstani uranium as a reason to increase production.[2]
From 1994 to 1998 Kazakhstani sales to the United States were constrained by suspension
agreements with the US Commerce Department. In November 1998
the Kazakhstani government terminated the suspension agreement, retriggering
an anti-dumping investigation in the United States. In July
1999, a US court found that Kazakhstani sales had not harmed the US
uranium industry. This decision allows Kazakhstan to resume the export
of uranium to the United States, without price or quantity controls.[3]
Kazatomprom intends to invest in its operations and
to seek new markets for its products. In
January 2000, Kazatomprom
President Mukhtar Dzhakishev announced that Kazatomprom would spend $50 million
of its own capital as well as part of a $25 million loan received from
Germany's Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale to increase uranium production.[4]
Dzhakishev
also announced pending sales deals with General Electric and South Korea
and stated that Kazatomprom will sell all uranium that is extracted.[1,2]
In July 2000, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia
agreed to form a three-way venture, in which uranium concentrate from the
Zarechnoye deposit in Kazakhstan's Zhambyl Oblast is to be processed at Kara
Balta.[5]
Stepnoye,
Suzak District, Shymkent Oblast
Kazatomprom
Director: Yevgeniy Ivanin
Around 1970 the Soviet Union began to explore and
develop ISL deposits in southern Kazakhstan. By 1990, ISL methods
had displaced open-pit and underground mining as the predominant uranium
production method in southern Kazakhstan. Stepnoye Mining Directorate
entered into production in 1978 at the Mynkuduk
and Uvanas deposits. Uranium is extracted using
a sulfuric acid leachate.[2] During the Soviet era, material from
Stepnoye and Tsentralnoye Mining Directorates was
processed at the Kara Balta
Ore Mining Combine in Kyrgyzstan. In 1993, Kazakhstan reduced
the amount of material shipped to Kyrgyzstan and redirected most uranium
ore shipments to its own facilities at the Tselinnyy Mining
and Chemical Combine (now KazSabton) in Stepnogorsk.[3] In the 1990s, output
from Stepnoye fell from from 800t in 1991 to less than 600t as
a result of falling world prices for uranium and US anti-dumping policies.[4]
In 2000, the Directorate reported a 40% increase in productivity due to
new pay incentives introduced at the mines.[1] Under a long-term
contract, Nukem of Germany buys most of the uranium obtained from Stepnoye
mines.[4,5,6]
Stepnoye Mining Directorate mines
deposits at Mynkuduk, Uvanas, Akdala and Zhalpak in
Shymkent Oblast using the in-situ
leaching (ISL) method.[1,2,3]
Taukent, Suzak District,
Shymkent Oblast
Kazatomprom
Tsentralnoye Mining Directorate entered into production
in 1982 at the Kanzhugan deposit. Uranium
is extracted using a sulphuric acid leachate.[1] During the Soviet
era, material from the Stepnoye and Tsentralnoye Mining
Directorates was processed at Kara
Balta Ore Mining Combine in Kyrgyzstan. In 1993, Kazakhstan reduced
the amount of material shipped to Kyrgyzstan and redirected most uranium
ore shipments to Tselinnyy Mining and Chemical Combine
in Stepnogorsk.[2] In the 1990s, output from Tsentralnoye fell from
from 1,200t in 1991 to less than 800t as a result of falling world
prices for uranium and US anti-dumping policies. In 2000, the Directorate
reported a 40% increase in productivity due to new pay incentives introduced
at the mines.[3] Under a long-term contract, Nukem of Germany buys
most of the uranium obtained from Tsentralnoye mines.[4,5,6]
Tsentralnoye Mining Directorate produces uranium
at Kanzhugan and Kainor deposits in Shymkent Oblast using the in-situ leaching (ISL)
method.[1,2,3]
Chiili, Kzyl-Orda Oblast
Kazatomprom
Mining Directorate No. 6 was established in 1981.
During the Soviet era, material from the Directorate was processed at Vostokredmet's
Combine
No. 6 in Chkalovsk (near Khodjent), Tajikistan. Kazakhstan terminated
shipment of uranium to Tajikistan in 1993 and redirected shipments of uranium
ore to Tselinnyy Mining and Chemical Combine in
Stepnogorsk.
Mining Directorate No.
6 operates at
the in-situ leaching (ISL) deposits at North
and South Karamurun, Irkol, North and South Kharasan,
and Zarechnoye. The Directorate has
total reserves of 120,000t. A
total of 1,300 people are employed by the
Directorate. The uranium slurry produced
at the company is transported to KazSabton in Stepnogorsk,
some 800km north of Chiili, where it is turned into purified U3O8 powder
with uranium content of over 85 percent. In 1996, production at Chiili
was about 300t/year, at 50 percent of installed capacity.[1,2,3]
Stepnoye, Shymkent Oblast
The three-way Joint Venture Inkai was created on 15
July 1995 between two Canadian companies, Uranerz and Cameco, and KATEP
to exploit the Inkay (Inkai)
and Mynkuduk deposits. The two Canadian companies
agreed to invest a total of $Can 40 million ($29.4 million as of 15 August
1995).[1] Under the joint venture agreement, Uranerz agreed to take
responsibility for mining operations and KATEP agreed to handle the export
business, using Uranerz and Cameco as marketing agents.[2] The JV
was built on a 1993 marketing/investment agreement between the three parties
to redevelop Kazakhstani uranium facilities.[2,3] Cameco bought Uranerz
and its shares in the joint venture in August 1998.[4] As of July 2000,
ownership of the joint venture was as follows: 60% Cameco and 40% Kazatomprom.[5] Joint Venture Inkai is an independent agent handling Kazakhstani production and
has exclusive rights only to that part of production that is not tied to
existing
contracts with Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) and Nukem, Inc.[6]
In June 2000 Kazatomprom CEO Mukhtar Dzhakishev valued the joint venture at
$500 million.[7]
Joint Venture Inkai is carrying out initial feasibility
studies to assess how much material is actually recoverable from the deposits.
On 21 July 2000, the joint venture signed a resource
use agreement with the government of Kazakhstan, allowing the JV to
proceed with construction of a $2 million test mine to assess the grade and
capacity of the deposit. Production could
possibly begin in 2004 with output eventually reaching 2.6 million pounds
per year, according to Inkai officials.
Tsentralnoye, Shymkent Oblast;
headquarters in Almaty
The Katko Joint Venture between Cogema and KATEP
was created in August 1996 to develop the Moinkum ISL deposit near Tsentralnoye. Ownership
is as follows: Cogema owns 45%, KATEP--29%, Volkovgeologiya--9%, Kazakhstani Main Mining Division--7%, other financial
investors (mainly Swiss)--10%.[1,2] Under the agreement, Cogema will handle the marketing responsibilities.[1]
The Katko Joint Venture is an independent agent handling Kazakhstani production
and has exclusive rights only to that part of production that is not tied
to existing contracts with Energy Resources
of Australia (ERA) and Nukem, Inc.[3] Nominal production capacity
at the Moinkum deposit is estimated as 700t/year. In
June 2000 Kazatomprom CEO Mukhtar Dzhakishev valued the Katko JV at $100
million.[4]
Cogema is planning to build an acid ISL pilot plant at Moinkum in
2000. The Katko Joint Venture plans to produce
between 9t and 22.7t of U3O8 in 2002.[2]
Stepnogorsk (Stepnyak)
Wholly-owned by Sabton
Limited, a subsidiary of Israeli-owned Africa Israel Investment Ltd.
President: Boris Sheinkman
Leaching Plant
Hydro-Metallurgical Plant
Chemical Factory
Repair Shop
Mining Equipment Factory
Ammophos Fertilizer Production Facilities
Heat and Power Plant[1,2]
Ammophos Packaging Plant[3]
KazSabton was previously known as the Tselinnyy Mining and Chemical
Combine. At the end of the 1950s, the Soviet Union launched
geological explorations to find uranium for its nuclear program.
Construction of the Tselinnyy Mining and Chemical Combine, known as "Mailbox
5175," was begun in May 1956 following the discovery of large uranium,
uranium-molybdenum, and uranium phosphate ore deposits in northern Kazakhstan.
In 1960, authorities chose the present-day site of Stepnogorsk as the Combine's
headquarters. Small towns, such as Zavodskoy, Zhangiztobe, Zaozernyy,
and Krasnogorsk were founded near Stepnogorsk to house the Combine's Hydro-Metallurgical
Plant, Repair Plant, Mining Equipment Plant, and other necessary components.[1]
During the Soviet era, the Tselinnyy Mining and Chemical Combine, along
with the Navoi Mining and Metallurgy
Combine in Uzbekistan and the Prikaspiyskiy Mining
and Metallurgical Combine, was at the core of the USSR's uranium production
industry.[2] Following Kazakhstani independence, the government of Kazakhstan
continued to operate the Tselinnyy Combine, selling U3O8 to Energy Resources
of Australia (ERA), Cameco, and Uranerz Exploration & Mining (UEM).[3]
Output from the Combine gradually declined during the 1990s for three reasons:
low-grade ore from Tselinnyy's underground mines, the cost of transporting
ore to the Combine, and the lack of reinvestment.[4]
In
1996, the Kazakhstani government contracted World Wide Minerals Ltd. of
Canada to manage the facility. By spring 1997, World Wide Minerals
ceased production at the facility because the Kazakhstani government would
not issue export licenses for the uranium. In addition, it did not
receive any uranium from the facility's southern mine production, which
was necessary to operate the facility efficiently.[5] The Kazakhstani
State Property Committee cancelled the contract with World Wide Minerals
and transferred the Tselinnyy Combine to state-owned Kazatomprom
on 1 August 1997. In 1999, the government of Kazakhstan put the then-bankrupt
Combine up for sale. Attempts to sell the Combine in January and
February 1999 failed due to lack of interested buyers.[6] On 16
April 1999 Sabton Limited, a Cyprus-registered subsidiary of the Israeli-owned
Africa Israel Investment Ltd., bought the Combine for 36 million tenge ($317,000
as of 16 April 1999). KazSabton was registered
in May 1999. Sabton, which outbid Kazatomprom
for the Tselinnyy combine, agreed to pay 320 million tenge ($2.8 million
as of 16 April 1999) in back wages and debts, compensate Kazatomprom for
its expenses on financing the plant prior to the sale, and present a long-term
investment plan.[6] As of January 2000,
Sabton had cleared 80 million tenge ($702,000 as of 16 April 2000) of this
amount. In March 2000, Sabton announced plans to invest $100 million
from 2000-2005 in KazSabton to develop new products, reconstruct the Hydro-Metallurgical
Plant, repair the heat and power station, and develop new deposits in northern
Kazakhstan.[7]
KazSabton produces pollymetallic ores, uranium oxides,
oleum, battery acid, heat and electricity. Yellowcake is exported
by Kazatomprom.[1] As of April 2000, ore extraction at deposits within
KazSabton's territory had stopped because of the comparatively poor quality
of the ore and high production costs compared to uranium production in
southern Kazakhstan.[2]
Maximum output of 3,000 tons of uranium per year. In 1993 the facility produced 800 tons of
uranium.[1] The present disparity
between capacity and real production is part of an early 1990s trend, attributable
to the high cost of uranium mining.[2] In 1996, the plant was operating
at about 20 percent of capacity.[3]
Aktau
(formerly Shevchenko)
Mining Complex: Open pit mining of uranium
phosphate ore deposits at Melovoye and Tomyak.
Operations were suspended in February 1994.[1,2]
Chemical Complex: A
chemical-hydrometallurgical plant produced uranium concentrate in the form
of uranium oxide (U3O8), scandium oxide, scandium fluoride, and other rare
earth elements for export.[3] The complex
also included sulfuric acid and nitric fertilizer production facilities.[2]
The fertilizer plant was transferred to MAEK in
1994.[4]
Machine Building Complex (Remzavod): Manufacturing
of equipment for the oil, mining, chemical and agricultural industries.
Research Laboratory
Dikfa Joint Stock Company: Toothpaste
manufacturer.[5]
Kaskor was formerly known as the Prikaspiyskiy Mining and
Metallurgy Combine (MMC).
The Prikaspiyskiy MMC, a large-scale ore
mining and processing enterprise, was established in 1959 to exploit
uranium-phosphate deposits on the Mangyshlak Peninsula. The discovery
of these deposits led to the founding of the city of Aktau and the construction
of the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy
Combine (MAEK) to supply desalinated water and electricity to the Prikaspiyskiy
MMC.[1,2] By the end of the 1960s, the Prikaspiyskiy MMC was one
of the major producers of uranium in Kazakhstan and, along with the Navoi
Mining and Metallurgy Combine in Uzbekistan and the Tselinnyy
Mining and Chemical Combine, was at the core of the Soviet uranium
production industry. In 1994, total uranium resources of mines run by Kaskor
were
estimated at 64,400 metric tons (t) of uranium.[3] The complex
is reported to have had an annual capacity
in excess of three million pounds of U3O8.[4] After Kazakhstani independence, the Combine
was privatized and became a state holding company under the name Kaskor,
with 51 percent of its stock held by the government.[3] Uranium production
declined in the early 1990s, from 2.6 million pounds of U3O8
in 1990 to 832,000 pounds in 1993.[5] Mining
and milling operations were suspended as of February 1994. A Kazakhstani
official explained that open-pit extraction, an expensive technique, had
made Kaskor uranium prices non-competitive on the market.[3]
The Kaskor Chemical Complex, a producer of fertilizer from the Soviet
era,
was temporarily placed under the control of MAEK in
1994.[6]
Kazatomprom
General Director: Bakhytzhan Berikbolov
Volkovgeologiya has been exploring areas in
Kazakhstan for uranium deposits since the 1940s.[1] Kazatomprom owns 90%
of Volkovgeologiya shares.[2]
The relationship between Volkovgeologiya and Zharys
is unclear. Bakhytzhan Berikbolov is general director of both.
General Director: Bakhytzhan Berikbolov
Zharys investigates areas in Kazakhstan for uranium deposits. It
has also conducted radiation mapping of various areas of the republic to
measure sources of radiation emission.
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