Statistics on natural uranium production in Uzbekistan have been presented. According to official data, Uzbekistan currently ranks 5th in the world in terms of uranium production and 10th – in terms of uranium reserves.
This information was shared by the Deputy Director-General of Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NMMC) Nurmat Julibekov at an interview with review.uz.
As of August 2019, the world’s natural uranium reserves are estimated at 6.14 million tons. Of this, 29.6% accounts for Australia, 13.7% – for Kazakhstan and 8.4% – for Canada. The next places are occupied by Russia, Namibia, South Africa, China, Nigeria and Brazil. Uzbekistan ranks 10th with 139.2 thousand tons of uranium reserves.
At the same time, Uzbekistan ranks 5th in the world in terms of uranium production with about 3.5 thousand tons of uranium per year. In particular, Uzbekistan produced 3,128 tons of uranium in 2014, 3,228 tons in 2015, 3,325 tons in 2016, 3,400 tons in 2017 and 3,445 tons in 2018.
Uranium produced in Uzbekistan is not used in the country, it is exported in full.
Kazatomprom is the world’s largest uranium producer. The Kazakh company produces more than 11 tons of uranium a year. This is around 20.5% of the world’s total annual uranium production. NMMC ranks 5th in the world in this regard. Its share accounts for 6.4% of the world’s total uranium production. The company is the only natural uranium producer in Uzbekistan and one of the world’s leading companies.
The share of uranium in the company’s exports is 99.5%. The company is a member of the World Nuclear Association and today exports uranium to the world's leading companies, including AREVA NC (France), Converdyn (USA), Cameco (Canada), CNEIC (KNR) and others.
For information, the world’s annual uranium production is more than 60,000 tons. This is equivalent to 80-90 percent of the global demand for uranium.
