BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 26. Production of Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom National Atomic Company is expected to be between 25,000 tons of uranium (tU) and 25,500 tU in 2024, Trend reports citing the company.
As previously disclosed in August, Kazatomprom’s Board of Directors approved a strategy to revise the Company’s 2024 production volume down by approximately 10% compared to the total Subsoil Use Contract level of 28,691 tU, disclosed in its most recent 2021 Competent Person’s Report (“2021 CPR”).
The decision to shift production from minus 20% in 2023 to approximately minus 10% in 2024 is based primarily on Kazatomprom’s continued success in signing mid- and long-term contracts with new and existing customers. The current contract book provided sufficient confidence that the additional volumes in 2024 will have a secure place in the market and be needed to fulfill future contractual obligations.
The full implementation of this decision could remove approximately 3,500 tU from anticipated global primary supply in 2024. Kazatomprom’s 2024 production is therefore expected to be between 25,000 tU and 25,500 tU (100% basis), compared to the total Subsoil Use Contracts level for 2024 of 28,691 tU, disclosed in the 2021 CPR.
Although the year-over-year production increase from 2023 to 2024 is modest, the Company may face significant challenges to any increase above current production levels, based on the current state of global supply chains and the availability of key operating materials.