ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 1. Kazatomprom (Kazakhstan's national nuclear company) intends to expand the geography of its presence in the global market, said the chairman of the board of the company Meirzhan Yussupov, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a roundtable at the first Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels, Belgium.
"Nuclear energy will continue to play an important role as a clean and cost-effective source of energy. In 2023, more than 20 countries signed a declaration to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050. This will be critical to achieving the Paris Agreement's goals to reduce CO2 emissions worldwide. Kazatomprom intends to expand the geography of its presence in the global market and meet future needs through exploration of new deposits and replenishment of the resource base," Yussupov said.
He also pointed out that Kazakhstan has a key role in the global supply chain and underlined the country's leadership in uranium production, providing about 40 percent of the world's nuclear energy needs.
Meanwhile, uranium production by Kazatomprom Group amounted to 21,112 tons from January through December 2023, which is 1 percent lower than the same period in 2022 (21,227 tons). As the company noted, production volumes on both a 100 percent and attributable basis were slightly lower throughout 2023 compared to 2022, primarily due to an insignificant decrease in the production plan for 2023 compared to 2022.
Furthermore, Kazakhstan has the second-largest proven natural uranium reserves in the world. The depths of the Republic of Kazakhstan contain around 14 percent of all proven world reserves. The entire proven reserves of uranium in the country are expected to be more than 700,000 tons.
Kazakhstan surpassed the United States in uranium production in 2009 and continues to dominate the global market.
Kazakhstan accounts for almost 40 percent of global uranium output. The volume of uranium production in 2021 was 21,800 tons, while the volume in 2022 was 21,300 tons.
