Kazakh, Chinese nuclear firms to build fuel-assemblies plant, develop mines

Kazatomprom Chairman Askar Zhumagaliyev and China General Nuclear Power Corp. (CGNPC) CEO Zhang Shanming reached a cooperative agreement recently for design and construction of a fuel-assemblies plant and joint development of uranium mines in Kazakhstan.

The meeting where the agreement took place was part of an official visit by Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov in China.

The visit also featured an agreement between Kazatomprom, the China National Nuclear Corp. and CITIC Group Corp. to facilitate cooperative ventures among the three companies. A joint working group will be established to explore such opportunites. The three companies have had positive working relationships in the past, Kazatomprom said. Through this agreement, the companies aim to enhance their cooperative developments within each country's respective nuclear energy industries.

Kazatomprom is the state owned company that operates within the nuclear industry in Kazakhstan, and it manages the export of uranium and other materials. The company is involved in activity relating to exploration of geological materials, reactor construction and the manufacturing of nuclear equipment, and is active in developing renewable sources of energy in the country.