NUR-SULTAN

Kazakhstan’s National Atomic Company Kazatomprom has closed the deal for the sale of a 49 percent stake in its fully-owned subsidiary, Ortalyk LLP, to a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) for $435 million.

Kazatomprom and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) signed a purchase agreement in December 2020.

The parties have agreed to construct a fuel assembly plant (Ulba-FA) at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant. CGNPC provided a guarantee to purchase the new plant’s production in exchange for Kazatomprom agreeing to sell to CGNPC or its affiliates, a 49 percent interest in Ortalyk LLP.

Commissioning and licensing of the Ulba-FA plant was completed last year. The first production from the plant is expected towards the end of 2021, with the first delivery of finished, certified fuel assemblies to the customer in 2022.

Ortalyk LLP owns a 100 percent interest in the Central Mynkuduk Deposit and fulfilled exploration and trial production of uranium at the Zhalpak Deposit, which contains JORC-compliant aggregate mineral resources of approximately 40,413 tonnes of uranium as of December 31, 2019. The Mynkuduk Deposit has a design capacity and subsoil use agreement in place to produce 2,000 tonnes of uranium per year. The deposit is currently operating 20 percent below permitted capacity. The production capacity of the Zhalpak Deposit will be determined through subsoil use contract negotiations with Kazakhstan’s government.

Earlier this month, the international rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the Kazatmprom’s credit rating Baa3, to Baa2. The base credit rating of Kazatomprom was increased by one notch and the outlook remains Stable, the agency said.

Moody’s said in a report that considered Kazatomprom’s leading position in the global natural uranium mining market, long-term contracts with consumers of uranium products, exposure to uranium prices, business diversification, exposure to risks, and dividend payments.