BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 12. Nulinkum Mining, a joint venture between Orano Mining (France) and Navuram (Uzbekistan), established in December 2019, has made significant strides in uranium mining over the past five years, having been granted two exploration licenses, said Benoit Lemonne, General Director of Nulinkum Mining, during the panel discussion on Sustainable Mining: New Opportunities for Investors within the IV Tashkent International Investment Forum, Trend reports.
"During this period, we have successfully completed over 200,000 meters of exploration drilling and conducted a pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of uranium production from our deposit. Additionally, we recently signed a key agreement with our partner Navuram, alongside another partner who will be joining our venture. At present, the Sars-Gengeldi deposit is nearing the point where we will soon make a decision to commence mining—likely within the next few weeks or months, but certainly before the end of this year," noted Lemonne.
"This means that, from the launch of our initial project, the decision to mine will be reached in less than six years—an exceptional achievement in the mining industry, where such timelines are considered highly ambitious," he concluded.
To note, Nurlikum Mining represents a strategic alliance, characterized as a joint venture (JV) between the French conglomerate Orano, holding a 51 percent equity stake, and the state-owned entity Navoiy Uran from Uzbekistan, which possesses a 49 percent interest. Nurlikum Mining JV was established to advance the Djengeldi uranium deposit utilizing cutting-edge industrial methodologies while adhering to global safety protocols and environmental compliance, aimed at uranium production.
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