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27 May 2008
Russian-Canadian Joint Venture was Registered
"The Russian-Canadian joint venture which will conduct additional exploration of the uranium areas in the north-west of Russia and, in particular, in Karelia, has already been registered, is now going through the licensing process and is expected to start operations soon," – said Vadim Zhivov, the General Director of the Uranium Holding ARMZ, to journalists on Tuesday.
As has been reported earlier, JSC Atomredmetzoloto, the head uranium mining company of JSC Atomenergoprom, and Cameco Corporation (Canada) signed an agreement on formation of 50/50 joint ventures for exploration and mining of natural uranium in Russia and Canada last November.
According to Mr. Zhivov, the Canadian JV has already been registered, whereas in the Russian Federation due to passage of the law governing access of foreign investors to participation in strategic industries, the licensing process was delayed since a consent of all individual subsoil users in the region needs to be obtained.
According to Mr. Zhivov, at the first stage, until 2010, the amount of financing of the company will be $ 3 million. This amount will be used to fund the infrastructure development and the design work. According to the General Director of OJSC Atomredmetzoloto, a decision to fund the company was made by the management board of OJSC Atomenergoprom and the board of directors of OJSC Atomredmetzoloto.
Cameco Corporation is one of the world's largest uranium and nuclear power stations fuel producers.
JSC Atomredmetzoloto (Uranium Holding ARMZ) manages all Russian uranium mining assets and is undertaking a number of projects in Kazakhstan. The aggregate uranium reserves of the ARMZ companies in Russia and Kazakhstan amount to 583,500 tons. 100% of the uranium holding's shares are owned by JSC Atomenergoprom which forms part of the State Nuclear Power Corporation Rosatom.
