Tokyo, Aug 31, 2009 (JCN) - Sumitomo Corporation and Kazatomprom, the Kazakh National Atomic Company, have agreed to exclusively undertake a business in Kazakhstan to recover rare-earth elements from uranium-ore residue. By the end of 2009, the two will establish a joint venture to produce rare earth concentrate from the uranium tailings.
The company is planning to produce 15,000 tons per year by 2015 with utilizing existing facility in ULBA, which is 100% subsidiary company of Kazatomprom. As a future goal, the company is aiming for integrated system of production from the raw material to high-value added products.
Kazatomprom is the third biggest company in the world of uranium production. On the top of uranium production, the company also focuses on the development of rare earth resource, metallurgy, energy, new technology and business projects. Kazatomprom will not only supply raw material but provide necessary infrastructure and engineer to invite high-tech industry.
In Kazakhstan, there exist a large number of uranium tailings by open-pit mining method. As a result of a preliminary study, it was confirmed that the tailing is rich in such indispensable elements as Dy (Dysprosium) and Nd (Neodymium), whose demand in electric vehicles and high-tech industry is expected to grow continuously in the future.
Compared to new mining development projects, there are some major advantages in utilizing uranium residues; 1) lower development cost, 2) quicker launch of the project, 3) lower environmental impact. The current Dy market depends heavily on Chinese supply but this project will open up a new picture for the rare earth market.
The Japanese government, namely the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of METI and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), have decided to support this project because the stable supply of rare earth and dispersion of sources are the most important subject for the growth of high-tech industries and the development of advanced technologies in Japan.
Firstly they decided the financial support for the technical development to remove Thorium and extract Rare earth from uranium tailings. They are considering more support for further progress in this project.
Sumitomo and Kazatomprom have already established a first joint venture company for uranium production and this will be the second joint project.
Copyright © 2010 JCN. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network KK.
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