SUMITOMO CORPORATION(head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Susumu Kato; hereinafter referred to as "SUMITOMO") reached an agreement with KAZATOMPROM, Kazakh National Atomic Company to exclusively undertake a business in Kazakhstan to recover rare-earth elements from uranium-ore residue. Both companies will collaborate to establish new reliable source for rare earth in Kazakhstan.

By the end of 2009, SUMITOMO and KAZATOMPROM will establish joint venture to produce rare earth concentrate from the uranium tailings. And the company is planning to produce 15,000 tons per year by 2015 with utilizing existing facility in ULBA(which is 100% subsidiary company of KAZATOMPROM).  As a future goal, the company is aiming for integrated system of production from the raw material to high-value added products.

KAZATOMPROM is the third biggest company in the world of uranium production. On the top of uranium production, KAZATOMPROM also focuses on the development of rare earth resource, metallurgy, energy, new technology and business projects. Taking this opportunity, KAZATOMPROM will not only supply raw material but provide necessary infrastructure and engineer to invite high-tech industry. 

In Kazakhstan, there exist a large number of uranium tailings by open-pit mining method. As a result of a preliminary study, it was confirmed that the tailing is rich in such indispensable elements as Dy (Dysprosium) and Nd (Neodymium), whose demand in electric vehicles and high-tech industry is expected to continuously grow in the future.

Compared to newly mining development projects, there are some major advantages in case of utilizing uranium residues; 1) lower development cost, 2) quicker launch of the project, 3) lower environmental impact. Current Dy market heavily depends on Chinese supply but this project will open up a new picture for the rare earth market.

Japanese government, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of METI and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), have decided their support to this project because the stable supply of rare earth and dispersion of sources are the most important subject for the growth of high-tech industries and the development of advanced technologies in Japan. Firstly they decided the financial support for the technical development to remove Thorium and extract Rare earth from uranium tailings. They are considering more support for further progress in this project.

SUMITOMO and KAZATOMPROM have already established the first joint venture company of uranium production and this will be the second joint project.

Related Links

• Mineral Resources, Energy, Chemical & Electronics Business Unit
• Visit to Kazakhstan to observe mine opening ceremony

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