Kazakhstan plans to reduce uranium production by 20% in the next year
Kazakhstan’s State Atomic Energy Industry Corporation has said it will reduce uranium mining by 20% in 2021 and 2022, Kazakhstan’s capital daily reported on the 20th. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium mining country, accounting for 23% of the world’s uranium production. According to the report, in 2019, Kazakhstan atomic energy industry company will exploit 22808 tons of uranium, and plans to mine 22750 to 22800 tons this year. The actual production in the first half of the year was 10434 tons, down 3.4% from the same period last year. The novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic has been affecting the global uranium demand. Therefore, Kazakhstan will reduce the mining volume of the next year by 20%, and it is estimated to be 22000-22500 tons. According to the published data, Kazakhstan’s uranium reserves are 1.69 million tons, accounting for about 20% of the world, ranking second only to Australia. According to Russian satellite network, it costs US $9.30 to mine a pound of uranium ore in Kazakhstan, the lowest cost in the world. Since the independence of Kazakhstan, uranium mining has been increasing. According to relevant statistics, in 1997, the mining volume was only 796 tons, reaching a record of 24689 tons in 2016, mainly exported to China, European countries, India, Russia, the United States and Canada. In 2018, in order to maintain the price of uranium ore, Harbin atomic energy industry company reduced the mining volume by 20%. (chief station reporter Wang Delu)
