Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Aug. 17 / Trend D.Azizov /
The U.S. Nukem has reached an agreement to continue purchasing uranium in Uzbekistan, Nukem VP Timothy McGraw said on Friday at an international business forum
He said Nukem and Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Complex have reached an agreement to sign in the near future an additional agreement to the contract for the export of uranium.
The basic framework contract between Nukem and Navoi MMC is valid until 2023.
Over 20 years Nukem purchased in Uzbekistan 100 million pounds of uranium, McGraw said.
He said the company plans to expand cooperation with Navoi MMC.
"With the Navoi Mining a memorandum is signed on a joint venture establishment for the production of submersible pumps for uranium mining, which will be located in Navoi free economic zone," McGraw said.
It is expected that the memorandum on a joint venture establishment for the production of submersible pumps will be signed before the end of August. Apart Nukem, foreign co-founders of JV will be Danish Grundfos and German Grupart. The design capacity of the joint venture in the amount of about 2,500 pumps will fully cover the needs of the country's uranium industry in this product.
As previously reported, Nukem Inc. since 1992, has the exclusive right to export uranium mined by Navoi MMC.
Navoi MMC is a monopoly operator for the extraction, enrichment and export of uranium in Uzbekistan.
Currently, production of uranium through undeground leaching is carried out by three facilities in the complex. Processing of uranium is carried out at the hydrometallurgical plant GMZ-1 in Navoi.
Technical base of the plant allows to produce more than 3,000 tons of uranium per year.
According to the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources of Uzbekistan, the basis of the uranium mineral resource base of the country is 27 fields located in the Kyzylkum region. Reliable total uranium reserves are estimated at 55,000 tons.