News - full story

THE Kazakh government has approved Australian miner Uranium One’s purchase of a 50% stake in the Karatau uranium mine from Russian rival Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ).

Under the terms of the deal, ARMZ takes a 16.6% stake of Uranium One plus $90m in cash and a further $60m bonus depending on its performance over the coming three years. The deal includes an offtake agreement that gives ARMZ the choice of buying up to 20% of Uranium One’s production if it is greater than its 50% share from Karatau, in southern Kazakhstan. Kazakh’s state-owned atomic company KazAtomProm owns the remaining 50% stake.

The mine produced 655 t of uranium in 2008, is projected to produce 1300 t this year, extending to more than 2000 t/y in 2011.

Uranium One says Vadim Zhivov, director general of ARMZ, will be appointed to its board if the deal, which was announced in June closes as expected on 15 December. It is subject to regulatory approval from the Kazakh Anti-Monopoly Commission and the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.