The exchange of sanctions between the West and Russia following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has created numerous obstacles to Kazakhstan’s uranium supplies to the West, according to Meirzhan Yussupov, CEO of Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer and a subsidiary of Samruk-Kazyna. Yussupov made these remarks in an interview with the Financial Times.
Meirzhan Yussupov, the head of Kazakhstan’s state-owned mining company, said sanctions resulting from the war have made it difficult to supply Western utilities. Kazakhstan produces 43% of the world’s uranium, a share comparable to OPEC’s dominance over the global oil market, FT wrote.
«It is much easier for us to sell most, if not all, of our production to our Asian partners — I wouldn’t call [out] the specific country… They can eat up almost all of our production, or our partners to the north,» he told the Financial Times.
Although Yussupov acknowledged that selling uranium to Asian markets is easier (likely referring to China, the largest buyer of Kazakhstani uranium), he also pointed to the company’s desire to avoid over-reliance on a single customer. «Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,» he cautioned.
According to FT, the Astana-based company, 75% owned by the Kazakh state, aims to maintain a diverse portfolio of customers, including US and European utilities, even though the traditional, cheaper shipping route through St. Petersburg is no longer viable due to the risk of sanctions.
«Kazatomprom, which is listed in both Astana and London, has been working on establishing an alternative route to ship uranium through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Black Sea, though at a higher cost,» the media outlet reported.
The Financial Times also noted that Russia’s increasing influence in Kazakhstan has been a growing concern for Western utilities and industry partners.
In March 2024, Yussupov announced that Kazatomprom planned to continue delivering its natural uranium to its Western partners via the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route (TITR or the Middle Corridor). Last year, this route accounted for 64% of the company’s uranium shipments.
Yussupov also mentioned that he met with Azerbaijan’s First Vice Prime Minister Yagub Eyyubov, during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s official visit to Azerbaijan. During the talks, Azerbaijani officials assured Yussupov that there were no obstacles to Kazakhstan’s uranium exports via Azerbaijan.
Kazatomprom began considering alternative routes for uranium exports in 2018, gradually increasing the share of exports via the TITR. As of the end of the first half of 2023, the TITR accounted for 58% of all uranium supplies to Western countries. In September 2023, the company forecasted that the share would increase to 71%, though this target was never reached.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kazakhstan transported its uranium via railway through Russia to Saint Petersburg, where it was then shipped to Europe by sea.
«To mitigate risk, we always keep export route diversification in mind. By the end of 2023, we aimed to export 71% of our uranium via the TITR, but we never hit that target, as it depends on the demands of our final consumers,» Yussupov explained.
