ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 10. Kazakhstan has proposed that Türkiye secure a contract for uranium extraction in Kazakhstan and use the fuel for its nuclear reactors, said Baurzhan Duysebayev, General Director of the Chemical Engineering Design Bureau, at MINEX Kazakhstan, Trend reports.
"Suddenly, Türkiye has entered the top five – with four reactors under construction, and another four in the works. This country could become a great new partner for Kazakhstan. And for them, the best partner is Kazakhstan, considering, of course, Russia. Looking at future needs, I calculated that 4.8 GW – even for two stations, excluding the third station in Thrace – requires 1,800 tons annually. If we extract uranium in Kazakhstan, they need not extract just 1.8000 tons, but 5-6-8,000 tons. This would either be double the Uzbek uranium or one-sixth of our uranium. Where will they get it from? This presentation was prepared for the Turkish side," said Duysebayev.
He also mentioned that his team had presented the Turkish authorities with a nuclear cycle operation scheme. According to Duysebayev, 40 percent of the nuclear cycle's cost is linked to uranium extraction, 10 percent to conversion, 40 percent to enrichment, and another 10 percent to fabrication.
"For example, we extract uranium here together with Russia, it gets converted and enriched in Russia, then fuel is produced, a station is built, and Türkiye receives electricity," he explained.
Duysebayev noted that Kazakhstan has proposed to Türkiye to begin cooperation, as the country will increasingly need nuclear fuel. Specifically, Kazakhstan suggested that Türkiye secure a contract for uranium extraction in Kazakhstan. Furthermore, there is the potential for organizing conversion (the process of transforming uranium-containing materials into uranium hexafluoride – raw material for nuclear fuel).
In his view, through cooperation with Kazakhstan, Türkiye could quickly begin obtaining uranium hexafluoride.
"Next comes fabrication, which we can easily do with the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (a subsidiary of Kazatomprom). Then, we would be working with the Turks at three stages. The next stage would involve all steps, except for enrichment, which will take time. We had two joint ventures with Russia in enrichment. The 'International Uranium Enrichment Center' and the 'Uranium Enrichment Center,' but now Kazatomprom has exited these ventures," Duysebayev added.
He recalled that when he joined Kazatomprom in 2000, the company had a strategy to acquire nuclear technologies from Western or Eastern partners. However, besides producing 200 tons of heat-generating assemblies for Chinese nuclear power plants in a joint Kazakh-Chinese venture, nothing materialized.
"Considering this negative experience, we can approach the Turkish side differently. They are ready for this, and they are already working with Turkish universities. 'Rosatom' has trained 10,000 specialists for Turkish nuclear power plants in Obninsk," he said.
In his opinion, Kazakhstan has also proposed to Türkiye fundamental training programs, including specialists for uranium mines. Over time, Kazakhstan will have to gradually reduce natural uranium exports, shifting towards higher-processed products.
"I see the strategy as follows: Kazatomprom currently sells uranium oxides – 24,000 tons. In the next phase, it should only sell converted uranium, like tetrafluoride and hexafluoride. Then it will sell only enriched uranium. The next stage is export, but only technology. No uranium should be given to anyone; we should process it here into electricity. After that, energy products," Duysebayev explained.
He reminded that when Kazakhstan's strategy was being developed, decision-makers considered the possibility that by 2040, demand for uranium might sharply decrease due to the development of new energy sources.
"When these strategies were made, the question was raised: why mine resources so ruthlessly, only for them to run out in 20 years? At that time, experts responded that by 2040, uranium would no longer be needed. Fast reactors would be in use, working on U-238 (which makes up 99 percent of natural uranium). So, natural uranium would no longer need to be mined. There’s also talk of thorium reactors and even fusion reactors being developed," he said.
In his view, conversion could be set up at the Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Complex, which is now part of Rosatom.
"Rosatom acquired the Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Complex last year. Everyone was excited about it, thinking they were now part of Rosatom. However, the profitability there is quite low. So, Rosatom itself thought about making tetrafluoride there. Two weeks ago, they confirmed the relevance of the project, 'Uranium Uan' (part of Rosatom), so we could proceed either with the Turkish side or without it – with Rosatom. We need to make tetrafluoride in Stepnogorsk, for example," he added.
Other potential locations for conversion plants include Ust-Kamenogorsk or Uralsk.
"At least, the plants for stage 1 conversion are the most obvious, like in Ust-Kamenogorsk and Stepnogorsk. We also have partners in the south, and in Uralsk, where our partners are from, representing the factory of the West Kazakhstan Engineering Company," he explained.
Duysebayev did not specify what decision the Turkish side had made or where the discussion stands. He mentioned that he worked at Kazatomprom for 18 years.
Türkiye's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, is being built under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model by Russia's state corporation Rosatom. The plant will consist of four VVER-1200 reactors, with a total capacity of 4,800 MW. In early September 2023, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev announced the construction cost of Akkuyu at $23–24 billion, later revising it to $24–25 billion in June 2024. As part of the contract, Rosatom will not only supply fuel for the plant but will also manage spent fuel disposal.
