Japan Said to Consider Kazakh Uranium Imports Through East Russian Ports
Uranium concentrate, commonly known as U3O8 or yellowcake in Kyzemshek, Kazakhstan. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Japan, the third-largest nuclear power producer, plans to ask Russia to allow it to ship uranium from landlocked Kazakhstan through ports along the country’s Pacific coast to cut the cost of importing the atomic fuel.
A six-month study to assess the viability of shipments from Kazakhstan, the world’s largest uranium producer, via ports near Vladivostok will begin in August and be funded by the Japanese trade ministry, said two government officials in Tokyo with direct knowledge of the plan, who declined to be named before an official announcement due this month.
The fuel is currently shipped to Japan through western Russia and the proposed eastern route could help reduce costs for companies including Marubeni Corp., Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Sumitomo Corp. that have invested in uranium ventures in Kazakhstan. Supplies from the Central Asian country will help reduce dependence on Canada and Australia, which provide more than half of Japan’s requirements.
“Russia can play a key role and make a big change to Japan’s uranium supply chain in years ahead as Japan is increasing purchases from Kazakhstan,” said Tomoko Murakami, a nuclear analyst at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.
Almost all Kazakh uranium destined for Japan is currently shipped through St. Petersburg in western Russia for enrichment in the U.S., Canada and France before it reaches Japan’s utilities, said Koji Furui, a spokesman for Sumitomo, which holds a stake in Kazakh producer Appak Ltd. Some ore is also enriched in Russia, he said.
Sumitomo, Kansai
Under the Japanese proposal, the Kazakh uranium would be enriched in Russia, according to the government officials.
The new shipment route would benefit Japanese buyers as ventures ramp up production, Sumitomo’s Furui said. The Appak venture, in which Kansai Electric Power Co. is also a stakeholder, is in the testing phase of production and expects to extract 1,000 tons next year, he said.
Daisaku Saito, a spokesman for Japan’s trade ministry, declined to comment on the proposed shipment route and study.
The study will assess the safety, capacity and viability of using railways, roads and storage terminals in Kazakhstan and Russia and ports in eastern Russia, one of the officials said.
The 9,300-kilometer (5,780-mile) Trans-Siberian Railway could be used to transport the ore to enrichment facilities in the Russian city of Angarsk, the Japanese official said. The enriched uranium will likely be shipped out from ports near Vladivostok, the official said.
Trans-Siberian Railway
Soviet-era rail networks linking Kazakhstan and Russia may be used to connect with the Trans-Siberian Railway and using trucks is also an option, the official said.
Kazakhstan supplied 14 percent of Japan’s uranium needs in 2008, compared with 1 percent in 2006, according to data compiled by the trade ministry and the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. The country imported 9,800 tons of uranium in 2008, more than half of it from Australia and Canada, the data showed.
Sumitomo and Kansai Electric agreed with Kazakhstan’s state-run Kazatomprom in 2006 to jointly invest $100 million to develop a uranium mine in Kazakhstan. Sumitomo took a 25 percent stake in Appak, a company founded by Kazatomprom, and Kansai Electric a 10 percent share.
Japanese companies led by Marubeni and Tokyo Electric bought a Kazakhstan uranium venture in April 2007 and have the right to purchase about 2,000 tons of uranium a year.
Marubeni rose 3.4 percent to close at 460 yen in Tokyo trading. Sumitomo gained 2.5 percent to 913 yen, while Tokyo Electric fell 0.5 percent and Kansai dropped 0.1 percent. The benchmark Topix index rose 1.9 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tsuyoshi Inajima in Tokyo at tinajima@bloomberg.net; Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at ssato10@bloomberg.net.
Rate These Stories
Rate this Page