Kamiko feels disappointed and surprised – EADaily, January 2, 2025 – Politics, Russia

The Inkai joint venture in Kazakhstan has halted uranium extraction. Kazatomprom explained that they did not approve the development project on time. The Canadian company demands clarification.

Kazatomprom announced the temporary suspension of production as of January 1, 2025 at Site No. 1 of the Enkay field, developed by the Enkay joint venture in the Suzak region of the Turkestan region.

“In accordance with the requirements of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Subsoil and Subsoil Utilization”, subsoil utilization operations are possible only if there is an approved field development project,” the Kazakh company explained. — However, as of December 30, 2024, JV Inkai LLP, after failing to ensure timely submission of the required documents, has not obtained the necessary approval from the competent authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In this regard, and in order to comply with current legislation, JV Inkai LLP is temporarily suspending production at the field.”

Kazatomprom expects Enkai to submit all necessary documents to the Ministry of Energy within the next two weeks, after which the situation will be resolved.

The Canadian company Cameco, which owns 40% of its shares, does not share the Kazakh company’s calm.

“In the reports received by Cameco up to December 26, 2024, it was not mentioned that there was a risk of production suspension in connection with this process (approval of project documents),” Cameco said.

“We are disappointed and surprised by this unexpected suspension and will seek further clarification on how this happened, as well as on the potential production and financial consequences in 2025 and 2026 (including future earnings), as well as what Cameco can do to help Kazatomprom.” The Canadian company added that the Enkai joint venture will resume mining.

Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer. According to Kazatoprom at the beginning of 2024, the share of foreign companies in the country’s current deposits includes 266 thousand tons – approximately 47% of total ore reserves. Rosatom is the largest participant in joint projects in Kazakhstan. The Uranium One Group has a stake in half of the uranium mining joint ventures – six out of twelve. It represents 58% of the joint project’s reserves owned by foreign participants – 154 thousand tons. The closest competitor may be the Canadian company Cameco (49.5 thousand tons).

After the start of SMO, the Canadian company changed the route of uranium delivery, bypassing Russia, and also refused to purchase materials for mining in Russia. Cameco admitted that this created major difficulties in terms of production and delivery time, but they are not backing down just yet.