Kazakhs to honour foreign uranium deals

Reuters & Miningmx reporter | Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:37
[miningmx.com] -- Kazakh uranium firm Kazatomprom, at the centre of investor scrutiny following a string of arrests in the strategic industry, sought to reassure foreign partners on Friday that it would honour all existing agreements.

Lying on a fifth of the world's uranium reserves, Kazakhstan alarmed foreign investors last month when its security agents arrested the long-serving boss of Kazatomprom and a host of other senior officials.

In a statement on Friday, state-controlled Kazatomrpom said it held talks with officials from foreign companies including Canada's Uranium One over the last two weeks to discuss cooperation.

"During those meetings, (our) partners stressed the strategic nature of our mutually beneficial relationship and their aspiration to continue cooperating in the nuclear sector," said Kazatomprom, which aims to become the world's biggest uranium company this year.

"Kazatomrpom for its part declared that none of the existing agreements would be changed. ... All production plans are being carried out on time. All export supplies are being carried out according to plan."

Uranium One CEO Jean Nortier told Miningmx at the time of a statement from the Kazakhstan government that some uranium deposits had been sold to foreigners illegally that there must have been a misunderstanding and that the purchase of a 30% stake in the Kyzulkum project was above board.

Uranium One's shares fell so fast, losing a third of their value, that at one point trade in them was temporarily suspended in Toronto. The Kazakh authorities singled out Uranium One as one of those deals.

All Uranium One’s operating interests are in Kazakhstan as it plans to develop a mining project in Australia and is looking to bring others in the United States into production. It has closed its Dominion mine in South Africa.

The arrest of Mukhtar Dzhakishev, who transformed Kazatomprom into a global player and signed most cooperation deals with foreign companies, has stirred long-standing divisions among Kazakhstan's business and ruling elite.

The authorities have commented little on where he is being kept and the secrecy surrounding the case has raised concerns among foreign investors.

Dzhakishev, sacked from the post of Kazatomprom president shortly before his arrest in late May, is accused of illegally gaining control over 60 percent of Kazakh uranium riches.

The KNB security service has quoted him as denying any wrongdoing. The new Kazatomprom boss, Vladimir Shkolnik, and the government have not publicly commented on the case.