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Kazakhstan: Ulba Metallurgy Plant

Ulba receives low-enriched uranium from two Russian enterprises: the Angarsk Electrolytic Chemical Combine and the Electrochemical Plant in Zelenogorsk.[9]  Production stages include treatment of the supplied enriched uranium material, transformation of UF6 into UO2, and manufacture of UO2 pellets; quality control is performed at all stages. The content of U-235 in the pellets ranges from 1.6% to 4.4%.[10] The UO2 pellets are sent to fabrication facilities in Elektrostal (Moscow Oblast) and Novosibirsk, where they are made into fuel rods and assemblies.[9]

As of January 2000, 90% of the shares in the Ulba Metallurgy Plant were managed by Kazatomprom.[11]  In order to solidify its relationship with Russian companies, Kazatomprom agreed to exchange 34% percent of Ulba's shares with TVEL for shares in three Russian companies involved in the nuclear fuel cycle:  Priargunskiy Mining and Chemical Association Joint Stock Company, the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant, and the Chepetsk Mechanical Plant.[12,13,14]  In response to concerns of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy, Ulba's bylaws were changed to allow the temporary issuance of "golden shares," which give TVEL veto powers over major policy changes.[15]  For more information on the share exchange, see the entries below from 7/6/98, 6/12/99, and 12/27/99.
Sources:
[1] William C. Potter, "The 'Sapphire' File: Lessons For International Nonproliferation Cooperation," Transition, 17 November 1995, p. 14.
[2] Boris Kuznetsov et al., "Implementation of Material Control and Accounting at the Nuclear Facilities in Kazakhstan," Partnership For Nuclear Security: United States/Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (Washington, DC: Department of Energy, September 1998),  pp. 237-242.
[3] "O kompanii," Ulba Metallurgy Plant Web Site, http://www.pjsc-ulba.com/.
[4] A. Yu. Gagarinski, "Can Kazakhstan capitalize on its assets?" Nuclear Engineering International, December 1996, pp. 18-19.
[5] "Nuclear Sites of Russia and the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union," U.S. Department of Energy, September 1995, p. 50.
[6] "O Natsionalnoy atomnoy kompanii Kazatomprom," Kazatomprom Web Site, http://www.kazatomprom.kz/About/rus.asp.
[7] "Osnovnyye etapy razvitiya atomnoy promyshlennosti Kazakhstana," Kazatomprom Web Site, http://www.kazatomprom.kz/about/history/rus.asp.
[8] U.S. General Accounting Office, "Nuclear Nonproliferation: Status of U.S. Efforts to Improve Nuclear Material Controls in Newly Independent States," GAO/NSIAD/RCED-96-89, March 1996, p. 14.
[9] Elena Rubleva, " V Kazakhstane rossiyskaya FPG poluchila v upravleniye zavod po proisvodstvu yadernogo topliva," Finansovye izvestiya, No. 60, 29 August 1995, p. 2.
[10] Report done for NISNP, Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency, 7 July 1995.
[11] "Kazatomprom poluchil kredit nemetskogo banka v razmere $25 mln," Interfax-Kazakhstan, 19 January 2000.
[12] Kazakh Commercial Television, 17 December 1999; in "Russian-Kazakh Nuclear Fuel Cooperation," FBIS Document CEP19991220000020.
[13] "Central Asia Investment Report," Interfax Investment Report of Central Asia and Caucasus for 20-26 December 1999, Vol. II, Issue 50 (57), 27 December 1999; in "Kazatomprom Intended to Swap Equity with TVEL Concern During the First Quarter of 2000," FBIS Document FTS19991227001322.
[14] Nikolay Ivanov and Roman Zhuk, "Rossiyskiy yadernyy udar po amerikanskim interesam v Kazakhstane," Kommersant, 29 February 2000.
[15] Oleg Khe, "'Kazatomprom' prokreditovan nemetskim bankom na $25 mln.," Panorama online edition, http://www.panorama.kz, 3 January 2000.{Updated 1/20/97 GB} {revised 2/5/97 GB; revised 4/14/98, EB; updated 1/24/2000 CC}{Updated 8/15/2000 KB, 3/5/2001 KB}
STRUCTURE:
The IAEA declared the Ulba plant to be one material balance area (MBA), divided into seven sub-MBAs: the VVER fuel processing line (the world's only production line dedicated to producing fuel for VVER -1000s); the RBMK fuel processing line; a laboratory; two storage areas; and a quality control area.  All sub-MBAs housed uranium enriched to 4%  U-235. Ulba also has a thorium storage area.
["Verification of Initial LEU Inventory Under Way at Ust-Kamenogorsk Plant," NuclearFuel, 31 July 1995, p. 6.]
MPC&A:
This site participates in the US Department of Energy MPC&A Program. Material accounting needs at the site were complicated by the introduction of IAEA safeguards at the site.  Equipment installed in collaboration with US experts included scales, nondestructive assay systems, analytical chemistry equipment, an experimental barcoding system, and computers and software for inventory accounting.[1]  Physical protection upgrades, including metal and nuclear material detectors, hardening of portals and access points, and installation of alarm and communications systems, were also performed.[2]  For more information on the MPC&A work being performed at this site, please see DOE's September 1998 document, Partnership for Nuclear Security: United States/ Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accounting.
Sources:
[1] Boris Kuznetsov et al., "Implementation of Material Control and Accounting at the Nuclear Facilities in Kazakhstan," in Partnership For Nuclear Security: United States/Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (Washington, DC: Department of Energy, September 1998),  pp. 237-242.
[2] "Department of Energy Nuclear Material Physical Protection Program in the Republic of Kazakhstan," in Partnership For Nuclear Security: United States/Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (Washington, DC: Department of Energy, September 1998),  pp. 243-247. {entered 4/15/99 FW}
 
ULBA PLANT DEVELOPMENTS:
 
3/14/2003: ULBA BEGINS SUPPLYING BERYLLIUM TO CHINA
The first shipment of several "extremely large deliveries" of beryllium from the Ulba Metallurgical Plant to Chinese companies has been completed, according to an article on Kazatomprom's website.  Beryllium is controlled as a dual-use item, because of its use in electronics and instrument-making, and possible use in nuclear weapons and reactors.  The article did not specify what Chinese companies the beryllium was delivered to, how much or what type of beryllium was supplied, or what the end use of the supplied material would be.  Ulba is the second largest producer of beryllium in the world, and production increased by 16% in 2002.  New beryllium alloys are currently being developed in conjunction with US firms.
[Elena Butyrina, "UMP has delivered the first lot of beryllium to China," Kazatomprom Web Site, http://www.kazatomprom.kz, 14 March 2003.] {Entered 6/03/2003 AE}

7/2002: EU FUNDS UPGRADE OF MC&A SYSTEM
A project to upgrade the material control and accounting system at Ulba has been underway since 14 April 2000. The project, with a total budget of €2 million (approximately $2 million as of July 2002) is funded by the EU TACIS program, and is expected to end by December 2002. The newly upgraded system will track and account for nuclear materials in uranium-containing liquids at every stage of the production cycle. With such a capability the system will accomplish three objectives: prevent the possible theft of materials, obtain full information about the quantity of materials within the production cycle, and provide credible information to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This project has been implemented under the framework of the nuclear safety agreement signed by the European Atomic Energy Community and the Republic of Kazakhstan in July 1999.
[Alevtina Donskikh, "Uchest do milligramma," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, No. 237(23886), 11 July 2002, p. 2.] {Entered 4/18/2003 AD}

7/1/2002: DOE ANNOUNCES SECOND NONPROLIFERATION PROJECT AT ULBA
On 1 July 2002, US Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Spencer Abraham announced the second nonproliferation project at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant. The new project, part of the Russian Transition Initiatives program, run by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), will expand and upgrade Ulba's capacity for the production of copper beryllium master alloy, which has commercial applications. The plant will earn an estimated $10 million per year from the project. At least 150 jobs are expected to be sustained for the next 8-10 years. Los Alamos National Laboratory will provide technical assistance and NNSA will provide funding and expertise. Brush Wellman, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio and RWE Nukem, Inc. of Danbury, Connecticut will invest $4 million in the Ulba project. Ulba has committed over $4.5 million, and the NNSA will contribute at least $1.5 million.
["Abraham Announces Second Major Nuclear Nonproliferation Effort with Kazakhstan: Former Nuclear Weapons Facility to Produce Commercial Copper Beryllium," U.S. Department of Energy Press Release, 1 July 2002, DOE Web Site, http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/.] {Entered 7/18/2002 YP}
 
1/30/2002: NEW NONPROLIFERATION PROJECT AT ULBA
On 30 January 2002, US Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Spencer Abraham announced a new nonproliferation project with Kazakhstan. Under the project, two US companies, Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas (GNF) and RWE Nukem, and Brookhaven National Laboratory will assist the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Kazakhstan to use its advanced solvent extraction technology to recover low-enriched uranium from uranium concentrates. According to Abraham, the project will immediately create 50 new civilian jobs for former nuclear weapons scientists in Kazakhstan. In the coming years, the project is expected to employ hundreds of former nuclear weapons workers. DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has committed $1.2 million in IPP funds for joint work between Ulba and Brookhaven National Laboratory to design and install this technology. The recovered uranium will be available for commercial use in boiling water reactors. The US industry partners have matched NNSA's contribution.
["Energy Secretary Abraham Announces Nuclear Nonproliferation Effort with Kazakhstan for Former Soviet Nuclear Weapons Facility," U.S. Department of Energy Press Release, 30 January 2002, DOE website, http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/.] {Entered 3/1/2002 YP}

11/29/2001: RUSSIA HAS YET TO SIGN TRILATERAL FUEL VENTURE AGREEMENT
According to Vitaliy Khadeyev, general director of Ulba, the plant has entered into a commercial venture, Joint Ukraine-Russia-Kazakhstan Fuel Enterprise, Ltd., to produce fuel pellets for Ukraine's nuclear power plants. Ukraine and Kazakhstan have both signed the agreement, which is yet to be signed by Russia. This contradicts earlier reports indicating that all the parties had signed the agreement (see the 7/5/2001 entry, below). Ukraine will supply uranium and zirconium, Kazakhstan will produce uranium fuel pellets, and Russia will use the pellets and zirconium to make fuel assemblies. According to Khadeyev, Ukraine will benefit from participating in the joint venture by using its own uranium and zirconium and by participating in the development of nuclear fuel for its power plants. Russia will preserve its uranium export market, and Kazakhstan will have guaranteed orders for its uranium pellets.
[Victoria Shevchenko, "Propisany tabletki ot urana," Kazakhstanskaya pravda online edition, http://www.kazpravda.kz/archive/29_11_2001/e.html, 29 November 2001.] {Entered 03/15/2002 YP}
 
7/5/2001: TRILATERAL AGREEMENT ON FUEL FABRICATION SIGNED 
On 5 July 2001 Kommersant reported that Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom, Russia's TVEL, and Ukraine's Energoatom signed an agreement to establish a joint venture to produce nuclear fuel elements for Ukrainian nuclear power plants. The idea was first raised as early as 1996 (see 12/27/96 entry), and since then has been under discussion (see 7/12/2000 entry). In 1996, several companies including TVEL, Westinghouse, Totall-Framatom, Siemens, and ABB bid on the right to participate in the project.  TVEL won the tender but was not able to finance the project at that time. Under the agreement, the three sides must each contribute 33.3% of $450,000 as start-up capital within 30 days.
["Bratya Nigmatulliny obyedinyayut energetiku," Kommersant, 5 July 2001; in Integrum-Techno, http://www.integrum.com.] {Entered 7/5/2001 NA}
 
7/12/2000: KAZAKHSTAN, RUSSIA, UKRAINE TO FORM JOINT VENTURE
During a news conference in Almaty on 12 July 2000, Ukrainian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Evhen Kartashov reported that Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine plan to form a joint venture for nuclear fuel element production.  Under the proposed venture, Kazakhstan's Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMZ) will produce fuel pellets, which will be further processed by Russian enterprises, while Ukraine will produce zirconium cladding.  The joint venture will also entail exchanging shares among the participating enterprises.[1]  On 27 December 1999, a UMZ official announced the transfer of 34% of UMZ shares to the Russian company TVEL in exchange for shares in Russian nuclear enterprises.[2,3,4]
Sources:
[1] Interfax-Kazakhstan, 12 July 2000; in "Ukraine to take Part in Russo-Kazakh Nuclear Fuel Joint Venture," FBIS Document CEP200007130000192.
[2] Kazakh Commercial Television in Russian, 17 December 1999; in "Russian-Kazakh Nuclear Fuel Cooperation," FBIS Document CEP19991220000020.
[3] "Central Asia Investment Report," Interfax Investment Report of Central Asia and Caucasus for 20-26 December 1999, Vol. II, Issue 50 (57), 27 December 1999; in "Kazatomprom Intended to Swap Equity with TVEL Concern During the First Quarter of 2000," FBIS Document FTS19991227001322.
[4] Nikolai Ivanov and Roman Zhuk, "Rossiyskiy yadernyy udar po amerikanskim interesam v Kazakhstane," Kommersant, 29 February 2000. {Entered 8/9/2000 KB}
 
2/4/2000: KAZATOMPROM TO BEGIN HYDROFLUORIC ACID PRODUCTION
Kazatomprom plans to set up its own production of hydrofluoric acid, which is used for the production of uranium, tantalum, and beryllium at the Ulba Metallurgy Plant. For more information, please see the 5/19/00 entry in the mining developments section of the database.
["Kazakhstan upped uranium production 16.3% in 1999," Interfax, 4 February 2000.] {entered 5/19/00 NA}
 
1/19/2000:  KAZATOMPROM RECEIVES GERMAN LOAN TO MODERNIZE PRODUCTION
At a 19 January 2000 press conference, Kazatomprom President Mukhtar Dzhakishev announced that Kazatomprom had received a $25 million loan from Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale of Germany.  The money will augment the company's working capital, as well as fund investments in uranium mining, the opening of two new mines, and the modernization of the Ulba Metallurgy Plant.
["Kazatomprom poluchil kredit nemetskogo banka v razmere $25 mln," Interfax-Kazakhstan, 19 January 2000.] {Entered 1/24/2000 CC}
 
1/2000: ULBA PRESIDENT SIGNS TWO CONTRACTS IN THE US
During a visit to the United States, Ulba President Vitaliy Khadeyev signed a contract with General Electric to process "uranium-containing materials" at Ulba.  Khadeyev stressed that Ulba does not process radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.  He also signed a contract with Brush Wellman for the sale of beryllium products.[1]  The amount of the Brush Wellman contract, $120 million over 10 years, was disclosed after Kazatomprom President Mukhtar Dzhakishev signed a contract in September 2000.[2]  The new contracts will lead to the creation of 300 jobs at Ulba, according to Khadeyev.[1]
Sources:
[1] Ekspress-K, 6 January 2000; in "Kazakh Metal Plant Head Comments on Accords With US GE," FBIS Document CEP20000117000018.
[2] "Kazatomprom to Supply $120 million in beryllium products to Brush Wellman," Interfax-CIS Daily News Briefs Volume II, Issue 172 (193), 11 September 2000. {Entered 2/19/2001 NA}
 
12/27/99:  ULBA ISSUES "GOLDEN SHARES" TO TVEL
Based on a draft agreement signed in Astana in June 1999 between Russia and Kazakhstan, the Ulba Metallurgy Plant will issue golden shares to TVEL in January 2000.  These shares will be held by TVEL for one year and will not have par value nor earn dividends, but will give the Russian entity veto power over any decisions made by Ulba management.  Issuance of golden shares is an interim step towards integration of Ulba and TVEL, at which point, the golden shares will be exchanged for a 34% share of Ulba.[1,2]  Ulba, in turn, will obtain approximately 7%-10% of shares in Chepetsk Mechanical Plant, Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant, and Priargunskiy Mining and Chemical Combine.[3]
Sources:
[1] Kazakh Commercial Television, 17 December 1999; in "Russian-Kazakh Nuclear Fuel Cooperation," FBIS Document CEP19991220000020.
[2] Interfax Investment Report of Central Asia and Caucasus for 20-26 December 1999, Vol. II, Issue 50 (57), 27 December 1999; in "Kazatomprom Intended to Swap Equity with TVEL Concern During the First Quarter of 2000," FBIS Document FTS19991227001322.
[3] Nikolay Ivanov and Roman Zhuk, "Rossiyskiy yadernyy udar po amerikanskim interesam v Kazakhstane," Kommersant, 29 February 2000.{Entered 8/15/2000 KB}
 
12/99:  PRODUCTION OF URANIUM AND BERYLLIUM TO INCREASE
In December 1999 Kazatomprom signed agreements with Brush Wellman and General Electric regarding international sales of uranium and beryllium.  By 2002 Kazatomprom intends to resume beryllium production, after refurbishing the country's beryllium production facilities. Kazakhstani beryllium production ceased in 1992.
["Kazatomprom poluchil kredit nemetskogo banka v razmere $25 mln," Interfax-Kazakhstan, 19 January 2000.] {Entered 1/24/2000 CC}
 
11/99: ULBA RESTARTS TANTALUM PRODUCTION
In the beginning of November 1999, Ulba restarted tantalum processing. It plans to import raw tantalum and export 10 MT of processed tantalum to the West each month.
[Interfax, 6 November 1999; in "Central Asia Investment Report 06 Nov 99," FTS19991115001612.]{Entered 1/31/2000 CC}
 
8/13/99:  DRAFT AGREEMENT ON UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN-KAZAKHSTANI JOINT VENTURE NUCLEAR FUEL PRODUCTION APPROVED
With Resolution No. 1474, on 13 August 1999, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a draft agreement on the creation of a Ukrainian-Russian-Kazakhstani joint venture VVER fuel plant in Ukraine.  A 1996 Ukrainian tender commission awarded the construction of the nuclear fuel plant to the Russian company TVEL.  For more information on joint venture efforts, see the 4/97 entry.
[ Interfax, "Ukraine Business Panorama," 23 August 1999; in "Ukraine Business Panorama," FBIS Document FTS19990823000971.]{entered 10/15/99 CC}
 
6/12/99:  KAZATOMPROM AND TVEL AGREE TO SWAP SHARES
On 12 June 1999 Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolay Aksenenko and Kazatomprom Chief Mukhtar Dzhakishev reached an agreement to exchange shares between Ulba Metallurgy Plant and TVEL.  Dzhakishev indicated that talks on the proposed exchange had been in progress for a year (see entry for 7/6/98).  TVEL had asked for 51% of Ulba, but Dzhakishev was opposed to giving the Russian enterprise majority ownership.  The two sides have yet to work out the exact number of shares to be exchanged and which Russian enterprises will be involved in the deal.  According to Dzhakishev, Russia is interested in preserving the integrated fuel cycle that existed during the Soviet era and retaining Ulba as a source of fuel pellets.
["Kazakh, Russian Nuclear Concerns to Swap Shares," Interfax Mining and Metals Report, No. 26 (380), 25 June 1999; in FBIS Document FTS19990624001327.]{Entered 8/11/2000 KB}
 
1/14/99:  KAZATOMPROM CONTRACT WITH TVEL TO ENSURE ORDERS FOR ULBA PLANT
In Moscow on 14 January 1999, Mukhtar Dzhakishev, President of Kazatomprom, signed a contract with the Russian nuclear fuel company TVEL.  The contract is intended to ensure orders for the Ulba Metallurgical Plant.  The talks also ensure further cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan.  Dzhakishev said in an interview that Kazatomprom's goal is to make Kazakhstan a world leader in the mining and production of uranium by the year 2005.  Kazatomprom predicts that the sale of world stockpiles of uranium will continue until 2010, with a peak in sales occurring in 2001.  This will be followed by a decline, and prices will accordingly begin to rise.  While the rest of the world reduces its production of uranium, Kazakhstan will increase the scope of its mining by four to five times. Other plans include the sale of more highly enriched uranium products, the manufacture of new types of fuel for nuclear reactors, and the joint manufacture of fuel assemblies with Russian ventures.  Kazatomprom is also moving toward privatization, but has not yet been privatized due to its current financial difficulties.  To make Kazatomprom an attractive investment, talks are being conducted to get credit from western banks, and there are now several proposals for credit in amounts from $25 to $70 million.  Once received, the credit is to be used in the creation of new jobs, new mines, and new production at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant.  Kazatomprom expects to turn a profit this year after a long period of operating at a loss.
[Oleg Khe, "Mukhtar Dzhakishev, NAK Kazatomprom:  V 2005 godu Kazakhstan dolzhen stat odnim iz liderov v mire po dobyche i proizvodstvu urana," Panorama, No.2, 15 January 1999.]  {Entered 5/10/99 RC}
 
7/6/98: JOINT RUSSIAN-KAZAKHSTANI OWNERSHIP OF ULBA PLANT PROPOSED
On 6 July 1998, the Russian government approved the draft of an agreement with Kazakhstan on the integration of nuclear fuel cycle facilities.  Under the draft agreement, the two countries would guarantee joint financial and technical projects directed at the development of fuel cycle facilities for nuclear power plants in both countries. In particular, Russia and Kazakhstan would establish long-term cooperation in nuclear fuel production through the joint contributions of the Russian firm TVEL and the Kazakhstani state-owned company Kazatomprom to the charter capital of OAO Ulba Metallurgy Plant. Both states similarly plan to cooperate in the establishment and operation of a joint venture for uranium mining.
["Rossiya odobrila proyekt soglasheniya s Kazakhstanom ob integratsii yadernykh predpriyatiy," Interfax, 6 July 1998.] {entered 9/18/98 FW}
 
12/97: SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE HELD AT ULBA METALLURGY PLANT
In December 1997, a scientific conference on nuclear engineering development issues was held at the Ulba Metallurgy Plant.  Leading Russian and Kazakstani nuclear experts attended the conference to discuss the prospects for the production of fuel used at  nuclear power plants.  Vitaliy Konovalov, the president of the Russian company TVEL, noted that nuclear power consumption in Kazakhstan is projected to increase, on average, by 50 to 300 percent over the next fifty years.  He argued that South Kazakhstan will require nuclear power plants.  During the conference, some advised that Russia and Kazakhstan should cooperate in the world market for equipment and fuel for nuclear power plants.  The participants of the conference discussed the advantages of nuclear power for Kazakhstan, supporting their position by citing the negative effect of fossil fuel power plants on the environment and the strict safety system at existing reactors in Kazakhstan.
Sources:
[1] Andrey Kratyenko, "Is hell in store for us without the atom?" Almaty Express, 18 December 1997, p. 2; in "Kazakhstan Needs Power to Avoid Ecological Disaster," FBIS-SOV-97-355. {Entered 4/10/98, EB}
[2] Viktoriya Shevchenko, "Odnoimyonnye prityagivayutsya.  K yadru v Ust-Kamenogorskye," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, no. 265, 19 December 1997, p. 1. {Entered 4/10/98, EB}
[3] Viktoriya Shevchenko, "Alternativy atomnoy energetike v Kazakhstane net," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, no. 2, 6 January 1998, p. 3. {Entered 4/10/98, EB}
 
7/97:  NONDESTRUCTIVE ASSAY ENHANCES MPC&A AT ULBA
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has provided nondestructive assay techniques and systems to upgrade materials protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A) at the Ulba Metallurgy Plant. The nuclear MPC&A enhancement program for Ulba is essentially complete, though some follow-up is expected to ensure a smooth transition to self-sufficiency. The site still requires calibration materials, which will be provided by New Brunswick Laboratory after Kazakhstani regulatory approval.
[J.K. Sprinkle et al., "Application of Nondestructive Assay Techniques in Kazakhstan," paper presented at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management 38th Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, 20-24 July 1997.]{entered 9/15/98 fw}
 
7/97: THEFT OF HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE
In July 1997, 80 containers with highly toxic beryllium dioxide were stolen from the Ulba Metallurgy plant's storage facilities.  According to the Office of Environmental Control, after being emptied (the beryllium dioxide was dumped right onto the ground), the containers were sold at a local market.  The Maslikhat (local government) was the only government body that was notified about the incident. According to the article, Ulba authorities did not report the incident to the Emergency Situations Committee or to the Office of Environmental Control, thus violating the Law on Emergency Situations.  As of 5 July 1997, only 28 out of 80 stolen containers had been recovered.
[Viktoriya Shevchenko, "Yadu ne izvolitye?" Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 5 July 1997, p. 1.] {Entered 4/10/98, EB}
 
4/97:  RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN, AND UKRAINE TO CONSTRUCT FUEL PLANT
The governments of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine have agreed to create a joint venture to construct a nuclear fuel production plant and storage facilities in Ukraine.[1, 2]  The plant will produce fuel for Ukraine’s 11 VVER-1000 reactors. (The Russian company TVEL, which currently supplies Ukraine with VVER-1000 reactor fuel, will continue to supply fuel for Ukraine’s one RBMK and two VVER-440 reactors.[2]) In addition, the joint venture will enable Ukraine to store spent nuclear fuel on-site in special containers for up to fifty years, rather than sending it to Russia for reprocessing, Ukraine’s current practice. A storage facility with three experimental containers holding a total of 72 spent fuel rods will be constructed at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant by the firm Energodar. Following trial use of this facility, storage facilities will be constructed to house 9000 spent fuel rods.[1] The Ukrainian cabinet approved a deadline of April 1997 for the completion of the final text of the agreement.[2] The Kiev-based joint venture is to be established in June 1997.[1] The Ukrainian firms Pridneprovskiy Chemical Plant in Dneprodzerzhinsk, Vostochnyy Mining and Metallurgical Combine in Zholtiye Vody, and the State Pipe Institute in Dnepropetrovsk will participate in the project.[1, 2] Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine will have equal shares in the project.[2] While much of the project has been planned out, the problem of funding remains.[1]
Sources:
[1] Oleg Kilnitskiy, Intelnews, 28 April 1997; in "Joint Venture To Establish Nuclear Fuel Processing Company," FBIS-SOV-97-118.
[2] “Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan to Build Nuclear Fuel Plant,” The Russian, April 1997, p. 7. {entered 8/20/97 djw}
 
1/30/97: THEFT OF URANIUM PELLETS
The Kazakhstani National Security Committee (KNB) department for the Semipalatinsk oblast detained a group of people trying to sell a kilogram of uranium pellets. A KNB spokesman said that the pellets were most likely stolen from the Ulba Metallurgy plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk, which produces uranium pellets for nuclear power plants. (For more information on nuclear smuggling, please see the NIS Nuclear Trafficking Database.)
[Interfax; in "Kazakhstan: Four People Detained Trying To Sell Nuclear Materials," FBIS-SOV-97-021, 30 January 1997, ] {Entered 2/20/97 GB} {Cleared 3/28/97 AB}
 
12/27/96: TRILATERAL AGREEMENT ON FUEL FABRICATION FACILITIES
In a few months a trilateral agreement between Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine will be signed. The agreement will concern the creation of fuel fabrication facilities, which will supply fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Kazakhstan will be represented by Ulba Metallurgy Plant, which produces fuel pellets; Ukraine will be represented by Eastern Mining and Conversion Combine and the Pridniproviye Chemical Plant; and Russia will be represented by TVEL. Building the fuel rod assembly line on Russian territory would cost about $50 million. It is assumed that the parties would have equal shares in the joint venture's capital.
["Budet sozdano SP po proizvodstvu yadernogo topliva dlya AES Ukrainy," Segodnya, 17 December 1996, no. 242, p. 1,.] {Entered 1/31/97, EB} {Cleared 3/28/97 AB}
 
9/96:  SAFEGUARD TRAINING FOR ULBA PERSONNEL
In September 1996, a training course was held in Sweden on practical material accounting and safeguards techniques for Ulba personnel.  The course was arranged by ABB Atom, Safetech Engineering, and SKI (the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate.)  This course was the third support activity sponsored by ABB Atom in the safeguards field.  Previous courses were designed to create an accounting system for uranium at the Ulba plant and a safeguards manual.  The twelve participants in the course learned about material accountancy and safeguards activities at ABB Atom.  The training included both theoretical and practical lessons.
["Safeguards Training for Kazakhs," ABB Atom Progress Report No. 3, November 1996.] {Entered 4/7/98, EB}
 
10/26/96: ULBA PLANT TO RECEIVE ISTC GRANTS
The Ulba Metallurgy plant has received grants of more than $4 million from the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) for the conversion of nuclear industry. The grants were designated to develop technologies for the production of magnets made of rare-earth elements and for making super-conductive coils. David Guibnik, ITSC project manager, said that Kazakhstani enterprises under conversion have prepared 13 projects for ITSC funding, including the production of the following materials: lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide (capacity 3,000 MT/year), magnesium oxide (1,500 MT/year), and tantalum-containing materials (200 MT/year of tantalum). The ISTC board has approved 44 new projects, raising the financing of all ISTC projects to $121 million, which makes its possible for some 15,400 scientists from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan to participate in civilian projects.
["Kazakhstan: Article Views Nuclear Industry 'Crisis,'' FBIS-SOV-97-025, 6 February 1997.] {Entered 2/20/97 GB}{Cleared 3/28/97 AB}
 
9/27/96: IAEA TO COMPLETE MC&A AT ULBA PLANT
It was reported that an IAEA commission completed material control and accounting (MC&A) and physical protection verification measures at the Ulba plant.
[Anatoliy Serebryanikov, "Pod kolpakom u MAGATE," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 27 September 1996, p.2] {Entered 12/8/96 GB}
 
9/10/96: AUDIT OF KATEP'S FINANCIAL ACTIVITY
It was reported that Kazakhstani Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin initiated an audit of the financial activity of the Kazakhstani National Joint Stock Atomic Power Engineering and Industry Company (KATEP). The reason for the audit was the filing of criminal charges against officials of the joint stock company Ulba (the company manages the Ulba Metallurgy Plant), which is a member of the joint stock company KATEP. KATEP was granted the right to possess, use, and manage the state's package of shares at Ulba. In connection with the audit, the press source mentioned the voluntary resignation of former deputy prime minister Vitaliy Mette, Ulba's former manager, and the firing of the Akim of the Eastern Kazakhstan oblast, Leonid Desyatnik, due to criminal charges filed against him.
[Andrey Zhdanov, "Blitz-Commentary": "Strangers Are Respected, Neighbors Are Suspected," 10 September 1996, p.3; in "Kazakhstan: NAK KATEP, Ulba Control Issues Noted," FBIS-SOV-96-2-9-S.] {Entered 12/8/96 GB}
 
4/4/96: THEFT OF FISSILE MATERIAL FROM ULBA PLANT REPORTED
A number of thefts of fissile material from the Ulba metallurgical plant were reported in a Karavan-Blitz newspaper article. One hundred kg of uranium was reportedly stolen from the site in 11/95; 150 kg of uranium and 400 kg of thorium were taken in 12/95. According to an official from the State Investigative Committee on Combating Crime, the thefts were carried out by plant workers with the complicity of guards. The official went on to say that thefts of uranium materials have become "commonplace" at the plant. For the most part, uranium stolen from Ulba is sold to Russian firms.[1,2,3] According to Director General of the Kazakhstani Atomic Energy Agency Timur Zhantikin, agency specialists have not been able to go to Ust-Kamenogorsk to participate in the investigation of the theft at the Ulba plant, due to the lack of funds for business trips. [4]
Sources:
[1] Bhavna Dave, "Alarming Number Of Uranium Thefts In Kazakhstan," OMRI Daily Digest, 9 April 1996, Vol. 2, No. 70 pp. 3-4. 
[2] Spaseniye, No.7-8, April 1996, p. 1.
[3] Post-Soviet Nuclear and Defense Monitor, "Theft of Nuke Materials 'Common' in Kazakhstan," 9 April 1996, p. 4.
[4] Kazakhstanskaya pravda, "Pri vybore reaktora my budem rukovodstvovatsya dvumya printsipami: bezopasnostyu i ekonomichnostyu," 15 May 1996, p. 7.{Entered 7/96 GB, Updated 8/23/96 GB}
 
8/95: RUSSIAN FIRM TO MANAGE ULBA
The Kazakhstan government decided to transfer the rights of ownership, use, and management of the Ulba state holding company to the Russian financial group Interros. The transfer was concluded by selling an undisclosed amount of shares in the corporation according to the government resolution "On Measures for the Financial Improvement of the Government Holding Company 'Ulba.'" Two reasons have been cited for the move: 1) the need for better financing of the company and 2) the wish to develop the Kazakhstani nuclear industry jointly with the Russian Federation. Kazakhstani Vice-Prime Minister stated in an interview to Interfax that Ulba is joining in a unified technological cycle of nuclear fuel production jointly with a Russian enterprise.
[Elena Rubleva, "In Kazakhstan A Russian Firm Receives Partial Management In A Factory Producing Nuclear Fuel," Finansovye izvestiya, 29 August 1995, p. 2. {Entered 1/20/97 GB}
 
7/31/95: DOE ASSISTS IN UPGRADING UST-KAMENOGORSK FACILITY
Since mid-1993, the US DOE has been spending about $5 million/year under the CTR program to assist in upgrading security at the Ust-Kamenogorsk (Ulba)  facility and to help take an materials inventory. Because the UO2 fuel pellets produced in Kazakhstan generally, and at Ust-Kamenogorsk specifically, make use of UF6, which is enriched in Russia, their existence represents a potential proliferation risk.
Sources:
[1] "Verification Of Initial LEU Inventory Under Way At Ust-Kamenogorsk," Nuclear Fuel, 31 July 1995, p. 5.
[2] William C. Potter, "An Overview Of The Nuclear Potential Of Select Non-Russian Soviet Successor States," unpublished paper presented to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 20 August 1992, p. 3.
 
5/6/95: NUCLEAR WASTE PROBLEMS AT ULBA PLANT
Zhenis Sadykov, chairman of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Problem-Solving Scientific Committee, stated that nuclear waste from the Ulba uranium plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk has been stored in the center of the city. He claimed that two artificial radioactive lakes have arisen in which children bathe and from which local inhabitants drink. He also indicated that a waste burial site in Kurchatov (Semipalatinsk) has already been prepared, but not advertised.
["Problem Committee Officer on Atomic Energy," in FBIS-SOV-95-091, 6 May 1995.]

Last updated 23 October 2003

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.

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