Russia
AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ Uranium Holding)
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
Established in 1991, AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ) manages all uranium exploration, mining, and milling activities in the Russian Federation, as well as Russian shares in foreign joint ventures, thereby satisfying both domestic and external uranium consumption demands associated with production and processing. In addition to uranium, the company also processes ores containing gold and rare-earth elements. 1
Since the 2008 restructuring, ARMZ maintains control of several uranium exploration and mining companies previously owned by TVEL, Russia’s fuel cycle company, and TENEX, Russia’s nuclear exporter. With the acquisition of TVEL and TENEX, ARMZ added 19 projects and 400,000 tons of uranium to its holdings. Adding TENEX expanded ARMZ’s uranium exploration to ventures in South Africa and Canada. ARMZ plans to invest billions of dollars in developing Russia’s uranium mining capacity to more than triple production by the year 2024. 2
The largest portion of ARMZ’s uranium production occurs under the auspices of JSC Priargunsky Industrial Mining and Chemical Union (PIMCU) in the Streltsovskiy district in southeastern Siberia. ARMZ also maintains mining operations in the Trans-Ural/Zauralsk, Vitimsky, and Elkon districts. Although Elkon’s insufficient infrastructure and difficult geography present development challenges, estimated reserves of more than 270,000 metric tons of uranium provide the Elkon area with the potential to become one of the world’s largest uranium mining projects. 3
Additional subsidiaries of ARMZ include Priargunsky, Khiagda, and Dalur; JSC Lunnoye, Elkon Mining and Metallurgical Combine (EMMC); Lunnoye, Gornoe, and JSC OMCC. ARMZ’s service companies include Uranium Mining Co., ESK ARMZ, RUSBURMASH, and VNIPIpromtechnologii. 4
ARMZ owns shares in foreign mining companies in Kazakhstan, Australia, and Tanzania. The company’s production activities have increased to 1,091 tons per year. 5 ARMZ revenue also grew between 2010 and 2011 by approximately 47%. 6
Glossary
- Uranium
- Uranium is a metal with the atomic number 92. See entries for enriched uranium, low enriched uranium, and highly enriched uranium.
- Fuel Cycle
- Fuel Cycle: A term for the full spectrum of processes associated with utilizing nuclear fission reactions for peaceful or military purposes. The “front-end” of the uranium-plutonium nuclear fuel cycle includes uranium mining and milling, conversion, enrichment, and fuel fabrication. The fuel is used in a nuclear reactor to produce neutrons that can, for example, produce thermal reactions to generate electricity or propulsion, or produce fissile materials for weapons. The “back-end” of the nuclear fuel cycle refers to spent fuel being stored in spent fuel pools, possible reprocessing of the spent fuel, and ultimately long-term storage in a geological or other repository.
Sources
- “История” [History], ОАО Атомредметзолото [OJSC Atompredmetzoloto], www.armz.ru.
- “Russia’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle,” World Nuclear Association, 30 August 2012, www.world-nuclear.org.
- Map of ARMZ’s projects, ОАО Атомредметзолото [OJSC Atompredmetzoloto], www.armz.ru.
- “Our Companies,” ОАО Атомредметзолото [OJSC Atompredmetzoloto], www.armz.ru.
- “История” [History], ОАО Атомредметзолото [OJSC Atompredmetzoloto], www.armz.ru.
- “Урановый холдинг «АРМЗ» (ОАО «Атомредметзолото», АРМЗ) опубликовал консолидированную финансовую отчетность по международным стандартам, а также производственные показатели за 2011 год.” [Uranium holding “ARMZ” (Joint Stock Company AtomRedMetZolotovo ARMZ) published consolidated finance records and production indices by international convention for 2011], Energy Land, 6 July 2012, www.energyland.info.