Russian State Holding Sets Up Three New Uranium-Mining Companies

Text of report by Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS

Moscow, 6 December: The Atomredmetzoloto Company [ARMZ, for "atomic-rare metals-gold"], member of the Atomenergoprom holding, has set up three new subsidiaries in Chita Region and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to develop domestic uranium deposits. A press release, circulated by the ARMZ today, says that two of these companies were registered on 3 December in Chita. These are the Gornoye Uranium Mining Company, which is to develop the Gornoye and Berezovoye deposits in Krasnochikoyskiy and Uletovskiy districts of Chita Region and an Olovskaya GKKh Company, developing the Olovskoye deposit in Chernyshevskiy District of Chita Region.

The combined uranium reserves of Gornoye and Berezovoye deposits are estimated at 8,700,000 tonnes and those of Olovskoye at 12,800,000 tonnes.

The Elkonskiy GMK enterprise was registered on 6 November in the town of Tommot of Aldan District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). It will mine uranium in the Elkonka uranium deposit. By 2020, this deposit is expected to yield up to 5,000 tonnes of uranium a year.

According to the ARMZ, the Elkonka group of deposits is among the largest in the world, containing 6 per cent of the world’s uranium reserves (344,000 tonnes). The main uranium reserves were discovered in Yuzhnaya ore-bearing formation of about 25-km long comprising several deposits. The ARMZ is Rosatom’s [Federal Atomic Energy Agency] leading company for developing uranium deposits in Russia and abroad. The ARMZ consolidates all the uranium mining facilities in Russia. It also has uranium mining joint enterprises in Kazakhstan.

Originally published by ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1157 6 Dec 07.

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