Photo: energyintel.com
French nuclear company Orano and Uzbekistan’s state enterprise Navoiyuran have signed an agreement to jointly extract uranium from the South Djengeldi deposit in Navoi Region, according to Navoiyuran’s Telegram channel. Operations are set to begin by the end of this year.
✅ The first phase of the project, expected to take three years, will require a $214 million investment.
✅ Annual uranium production is projected at 500 tons.
✅ Foreign companies will provide the majority of the funding, while Navoiyuran will serve as the operating manager to optimize costs by integrating production within its existing infrastructure.
🔹 The project will also involve Japan’s ITOCHU Corporation, which has acquired a minority stake in Nurlikum Mining, the Uzbek-French joint venture responsible for exploration at South Djengeldi since 2022.
🔹 Previously, Orano held a 51% stake, while Uzbekistan’s State Geology Committee (Goskomgeology) owned the remaining 49%.
🔹 The specific size of ITOCHU’s share in Nurlikum Mining has not been disclosed.
💡 French experts estimate a decade of uranium extraction at South Djengeldi, with production peaking at 700 tons per year.
Xavier Saint-Martin-Tillet, Senior Executive Vice President for Mining at Orano, stated:
“This new phase of cooperation is the result of years of work in Uzbekistan. Orano aims to contribute its geological and technical expertise to the project’s further development and support the company’s expansion.”
Orano is a major uranium and nuclear fuel producer, with €29 billion in assets.
📌 In 2019, the company formed Nurlikum Mining with Goskomgeology, aiming to produce 1,500 tons of uranium oxide annually while ensuring favorable sales conditions for Uzbekistan’s nuclear industry.
