Mongolia said it has reached a preliminary agreement with France’s Orano Mining Group to develop a long-awaited uranium mining project in the Dornogovi province, reported Reuters.
The Zuuvch Ovoo project, with an initial investment of $500 million and a total investment of $1.6 billion, will start its preparatory phase from 2024 to 2027, with first production expected in 2028, the Mongolian government said. Peak production will hit 2,600 metric tons in 2044, it added.
“This agreement is a significant step forward in boosting inward investment and employment opportunities for the Mongolian people,” Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai said in a statement.
Orano, a major uranium producer with mines in Canada, Kazakhstan and Niger, has been in Mongolia for more than 25 years carrying out exploration activities in the Gobi Desert. Badrakh Energy, a joint venture between subsidiary AREVA Mongol (66%) and state-owned Mon-Atom (34%) was granted three mining licenses for the Dulaan Uul/Umnut and Zuuvch Ovoo deposits in 2015.
Source: Reuters