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Kazakhstan’s national atomic company reports COVID-19 cases at its JV with France

Business Materials 21 January 2021 12:49 (UTC +04:00)
Kazakhstan’s national atomic company reports COVID-19 cases at its JV with France

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 21

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom National Atomic Company JSC has recorded several positive cases of COVID-19 at the Company’s Kazakh-French Joint Venture, KATCO LLC, operating in the Turkestan region of the country, Trend reports citing the company.

Despite the safety measures and protocols that are in place, several KATCO employees who had tested negative when arriving at the site at the end of December began to show symptoms of COVID-19 while working at the facility and staying in the Moinkum camp.

The operation’s senior management promptly moved to conduct PCR testing of all KATCO employees and contractors, which resulted in the identification of additional positive cases.

Based on recommendations of local medical authorities, and in light of positive cases among site personnel that had previously tested negative, testing of all employees and contractors at Tortkuduk camp was carried. Final test results from both camps are still pending.

Affected personnel has been isolated. According to the protocol of the Chief state sanitary doctor of the Suzak area, the Turkistan region, both facilities have been placed under quarantine to await final results prior to a shift change. The Company is taking all necessary measures to ensure the health and well-being of personnel both on and off the sites.

KATCO does not expect the site quarantine to have an impact on drilling or planned 2021 production, given the camp layouts and separation between workers involved in wellfield development and those involved in the production.

Kazatomprom is the world's largest producer of uranium, with the company’s attributable production representing approximately 24 percent of global primary uranium production in 2019.

The Group benefits from the largest reserve base in the industry and operates, through its subsidiaries, JVs, and Associates, 26 deposits grouped into 14 mining assets. All of the Company’s mining operations are located in Kazakhstan and mined using ISR technology with a focus on maintaining industry-leading health, safety, and environmental standards.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @nargiz_sadikh

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