Kazatomprom

National Atomic Company Kazatomprom Joint Stock Company, commonly known as Kazatomprom, is Kazakhstan’s state-backed uranium producer and the country’s designated operator for the import and export of uranium, uranium compounds, nuclear-fuel materials, specialized equipment, and related technologies. Established by presidential decree in 1997, the company consolidated the country’s role in the civil nuclear-fuel cycle after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Its principal business is the exploration, development, mining, processing, marketing, and export of natural uranium produced in Kazakhstan. Kazatomprom is widely described as the world’s largest uranium producer. Kazakhstan became the leading uranium-producing country in 2009, and Kazatomprom became the largest single uranium producer in 2010. The company supplies utilities and other participants in the global nuclear industry, with its output ultimately serving nuclear-power generation in multiple markets. Because Kazakhstan has not operated a commercial nuclear power plant since the Soviet-era BN-350 reactor at Aktau was shut down in 1992, nearly all of the company’s uranium production is intended for export or for international nuclear-fuel supply chains. The company’s mining portfolio consists of uranium deposits and production areas located entirely within Kazakhstan. Its operations are concentrated in sandstone-hosted deposits in the Shu-Sarysu, Syrdariya, North Kazakhstan, Caspian, Balkhash, and Ili regions. Kazatomprom and its subsidiaries, joint ventures, and associates operate a network of deposit areas organized into mining clusters. Unlike conventional underground or open-pit uranium mining, the company uses in-situ recovery, or ISR, across its production portfolio. ISR circulates a production solution through the ore-bearing horizon, dissolves uranium underground, and brings the uranium-bearing solution to the surface for processing. The method can reduce surface disturbance, mining costs, and worker exposure to conventional mining hazards, although it requires suitable geological conditions and effective control of subsurface fluids. Kazatomprom has also maintained activities beyond mine production. Through Ulba Metallurgical Plant, it produces uranium dioxide powders, fuel pellets, and other nuclear-related materials, and it participates in the manufacture of nuclear-fuel assemblies. Ulba is also involved in the production of beryllium, tantalum, and niobium products. The company has historically pursued selective integration into conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, research, and other front-end fuel-cycle activities through partnerships and joint ventures. Its strategic emphasis, however, has shifted toward uranium mining and commercial discipline rather than broad expansion across every stage of the fuel cycle. The company’s ownership structure changed materially in 2018, when Samruk-Kazyna floated 15% of the shares on the London Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange. Further state share sales in 2019 and 2020 increased the public free float. In July 2024, Kazatomprom stated that Samruk-Kazyna’s holding had fallen to 62.99%, while Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance held 12%; the balance was held by public and other minority investors. Kazatomprom therefore combines state control with international capital-market access. Following uranium-market oversupply after the 2011 Fukushima accident and the subsequent suspension of Japan’s reactor fleet, Kazatomprom adopted a value-oriented strategy. From 2017 onward, management focused on balancing production with market demand rather than maximizing volume. The company’s 2018–2028 development strategy emphasizes sustainable development, operational efficiency, market discipline, and the economic value of its resource base. Geopolitical disruption following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased attention on Kazatomprom as utilities and governments seek uranium supply routes and refining or conversion capacity that reduce dependence on Russian infrastructure. The company remains a major global supplier, while its future growth is shaped by production discipline, logistics, nuclear-power demand, environmental requirements, and Kazakhstan’s role in the international fuel cycle.

Kazatomprom was created in 1997 by decree of Nursultan Nazarbayev as Kazakhstan’s national operator for uranium, rare metals, nuclear fuel, and associated imports and exports. Its creation provided an institutional successor to Soviet-era nuclear-industrial structures and gave the independent republic a central vehicle for managing its substantial uranium resources. Kazakhstan’s first commercial uranium deposit, Kordayskoye, had been discovered in 1951. Exploration later identified major sandstone-hosted uranium provinces in southern and central Kazakhstan, establishing the country as the world leader in resources suitable for in-situ recovery. At its creation, Kazatomprom ranked among the world’s smaller major uranium producers. The Kazakh government then set an objective of making the country the leading uranium producer by 2010. Production expanded rapidly, reaching approximately 13,500 tonnes of uranium in 2009, when Kazakhstan became the world’s largest uranium-producing country. Kazatomprom, representing Kazakhstan’s proportional interests across mining operations, became the largest individual uranium producer in 2010. Company production later reached approximately 24,586 tonnes of uranium in 2016. The market environment changed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Japan suspended its operating reactors, while other countries reassessed nuclear programs, contributing to uranium oversupply and weaker prices. In response, Kazatomprom moved away from a volume-maximization model. Beginning in 2017, management adopted a value-focused strategy designed to support market balance, improve returns, and align output with demand. The company planned production below the volumes permitted by its subsoil-use contracts and extended this discipline through 2022. The 2018–2028 Development Strategy formalized the company’s emphasis on sustainable development and commercial value. Kazatomprom also refocused on its core strength: ISR uranium production. All of its mining operations use ISR, a method that extracts dissolved uranium from suitable underground ore horizons through injection and production wells. The company’s portfolio includes 24 deposit areas organized into 13 mining subsidiaries or clusters, with operations located exclusively in Kazakhstan. One deposit had entered decommissioning while the others remained under development or active production at the time described in the reference material. During the 2000s and 2010s, Kazatomprom pursued broader participation in the front end of the nuclear-fuel cycle. Its activities and partnerships covered uranium conversion, enrichment, uranium dioxide powder, fuel pellets, and fabricated fuel assemblies. In 2013, through the Kazakh-Russian Uranium Enrichment Center joint venture, it acquired an interest in Ural Electrochemical Plant, a major Russian enrichment facility. In 2020, the company sold that interest to TVEL as part of its strategic concentration on mining, while retaining access to enrichment services. Ulba Metallurgical Plant became a central element of the company’s downstream and materials activities. It has produced uranium-bearing materials, uranium dioxide powder, and fuel pellets for light-water reactors for decades. Kazatomprom and China General Nuclear Power Corporation began developing a fuel-assembly project at Ulba in 2014. Production commenced in 2021, and the plant reached its stated design capacity in 2025. Ulba also produces beryllium, tantalum, and niobium products and maintains an integrated beryllium operation. Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency established its low-enriched uranium bank at the Ulba facility, placing a physical reserve of 90 tonnes of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride in Kazakhstan for use by eligible member states if commercial supply becomes unavailable. Kazatomprom remained wholly owned by Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, for more than two decades. In November 2018, the government initiated partial privatization by floating 15% of the company on the London Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange. Additional sales in 2019 and 2020 expanded the free float. In 2024, the company disclosed a further ownership change: Samruk-Kazyna’s holding was reduced to 62.99%, while the Ministry of Finance held 12%. In the 2020s, geopolitical risk and nuclear-power policy renewed attention on Kazakh uranium. European and other international buyers have examined Kazatomprom as a major non-Russian source, while transport restrictions and dependence on Russian conversion or transit infrastructure have encouraged efforts to develop alternative routes and refining capabilities. Kazatomprom continues to operate primarily as a uranium miner and exporter, supported by geological exploration, processing, fuel fabrication, rare-metal production, and research and development.

• 2025

  Ulba fuel plant reaches design capacity

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  The fuel-assembly operation reached a stated design capacity of 200 tonnes of low-enriched uranium in fabricated fuel per year.

• 2024

  State ownership is revised

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Samruk-Kazyna disclosed a reduction of its holding to 62.99%, while Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance held 12%.

• 2021

  Ulba fuel-assembly production begins

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  The Ulba Fuel Assembly plant began commercial production of nuclear-fuel assemblies.

• 2020

  Uranium-enrichment interest sold

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Kazatomprom sold its Uranium Enrichment Center joint-venture interest to TVEL while retaining access to Russian enrichment services.

• 2018

  Development Strategy for 2018–2028 adopted

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopted a long-term strategy centered on sustainable development and commercially disciplined growth.

• 2018

  Initial public offering

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Fifteen percent of the company’s outstanding shares were placed on the London Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange.

• 2017

  Value-focused production strategy adopted

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Management began shifting from production-volume growth toward market balance, value creation, and disciplined output.

• 2016

  Production reaches a recorded peak

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Kazatomprom’s reported uranium production reached approximately 24,586 tonnes.

• 2014

  Fuel-assembly project agreed with China General Nuclear

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Kazatomprom and China General Nuclear Power Corporation began implementing a project for nuclear-fuel assembly production at Ulba.

• 2013

  Enrichment partnership expands

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Through the Uranium Enrichment Center joint venture, Kazatomprom became a shareholder in Russia’s Ural Electrochemical Plant.

• 2010

  Kazatomprom becomes the largest single uranium producer

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Kazatomprom became the world’s largest individual uranium producer through its proportional interests in Kazakhstan’s mining operations.

• 2009

  Kazakhstan becomes the leading uranium producer

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  National uranium production reached approximately 13,500 tonnes, enabling Kazakhstan to become the world’s largest uranium-producing country.

• 1997

  Kazatomprom established

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Kazatomprom was founded as Kazakhstan’s national operator for uranium, rare metals, nuclear fuel, and related imports and exports.

• 1992

  BN-350 reactor shuts down

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  The Soviet-built BN-350 reactor at Aktau ceased operation, leaving Kazakhstan without an operating nuclear power plant and making the country’s uranium output primarily export-oriented.

• 1951

  Kordayskoye uranium deposit discovered

  [1]Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org

  Kazakhstan’s first commercial uranium deposit was discovered and explored, laying part of the geological foundation for the country’s later uranium industry.

A state-backed, globally significant uranium supplier emphasizing low-cost in-situ recovery, production discipline, supply reliability, and selective participation in the nuclear-fuel cycle.

• Uranium mining and concentrates · 1997

  Natural uranium

  Kazatomprom’s core product is natural uranium recovered from Kazakhstan’s sandstone-hosted deposits. Production is conducted through in-situ recovery, in which a solution is circulated through the ore-bearing horizon and uranium-bearing fluid is brought to the surface for processing. The resulting uranium products are sold primarily to international nuclear-fuel customers.

• Nuclear-fuel materials

  Uranium dioxide powder and fuel pellets

  Ulba Metallurgical Plant processes uranium-containing materials into ceramic-grade uranium dioxide powders and fuel pellets for light-water reactor applications. The facility’s processing capabilities support Kazatomprom’s selective participation in the front end of the nuclear-fuel cycle without changing the company’s principal focus on uranium mining.

• Nuclear-fuel fabrication · 2021

  Nuclear-fuel assemblies

  The Ulba Fuel Assembly plant manufactures finished fuel assemblies through cooperation between Kazatomprom and China General Nuclear Power Corporation. Production began in 2021, and the facility later reached a stated design capacity of 200 tonnes of low-enriched uranium in fabricated fuel annually, equivalent to fuel for approximately six reactor reloads.

• Rare metals

  Beryllium products

  Ulba Metallurgical Plant operates an integrated beryllium production cycle. Beryllium materials form part of Kazatomprom’s non-uranium materials portfolio and serve specialized industrial and nuclear-related applications. The plant is described in the reference material as one of the world’s major beryllium producers.

• Rare metals

  Tantalum and niobium products

  Ulba also produces tantalum and niobium materials. The facility is described as the only tantalum plant in the Commonwealth of Independent States and as a significant global producer of both tantalum and beryllium products.

• 2022

  Supply-chain diversification amid geopolitical disruptionStrategy

  Background

  The Russia–Ukraine war increased concern among European and other nuclear-fuel buyers about dependence on Russian transport, conversion, and enrichment infrastructure.

  Action taken

  Kazatomprom and relevant stakeholders pursued alternative transportation routes and considered additional refining and conversion capacity while continuing to supply international customers.

  Aftermath

  Kazakh uranium gained strategic importance as utilities sought diversified sources, although the company remained connected to broader regional logistics and fuel-cycle constraints.

  Source

• 2021

  Launch of Ulba nuclear-fuel assembly productionProduct launch

  Background

  Kazatomprom and China General Nuclear Power Corporation had developed a fuel-assembly facility to serve Chinese nuclear-fuel requirements.

  Action taken

  The Ulba Fuel Assembly plant began producing finished nuclear-fuel assemblies.

  Aftermath

  The project expanded Kazatomprom’s participation beyond uranium mining into fabricated nuclear fuel.

  Source

• 2020

  Refocus on uranium mining and exit enrichment joint ventureStrategy

  Background

  Kazatomprom reviewed its participation in the wider nuclear-fuel cycle and prioritized its core mining business.

  Action taken

  The company sold its stake in the Uranium Enrichment Center joint venture to TVEL while retaining access to enrichment services in Russia.

  Aftermath

  The transaction reduced direct ownership in enrichment and concentrated the company’s strategic profile on uranium production and selected downstream activities.

  Source

• 2018

  Partial privatization through an international IPOM&A

  Background

  The Kazakhstan government’s 2016–2020 privatization program sought to broaden capital-market access and reduce the state’s economic share over time.

  Action taken

  Samruk-Kazyna placed 15% of Kazatomprom’s outstanding shares on the London Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange.

  Aftermath

  The company gained an international public shareholder base, followed by further state share sales in 2019, 2020, and 2024.

  Source

• 2017

  Shift from volume growth to value and market balanceStrategy

  Background

  Uranium oversupply after the Fukushima accident weakened market conditions and reduced the attractiveness of maximizing mine output.

  Action taken

  Kazatomprom adopted a strategy centered on value, production discipline, and aligning output with market demand. It planned production below the volumes allowed by its subsoil-use agreements.

  Aftermath

  The company maintained production restraint through 2022 and reinforced its positioning as a market-balancing supplier.

  Source

1. 1Kazatompromen.wikipedia.org