Thursday, May 03, 2012 -
Kazakhstan’s uranium producer Kazatomprom will provide Japan with nuclear fuel elements next year, according to a statement published on the Kazatomprom web site on Thursday.
“We have today agreed to sign certain agreements for the development of the uranium project areas and, in particular, to develop and provide services to the Kazakh side of our Ulba plant for the Japanese market,” Kazatomprom’s deputy chairman Sergei Yashin said in the statement.
The plant will produce tablets and powders for nuclear power, Yashin said.
He emphasized that the nuclear reactor disaster in Fukushima last year has not impacted Japan’s desire to import uranium.
However, Japan is set to close its last nuclear reactor on Saturday, The Guardian reported Thursday.
All 54 reactors in the tiny Asian country will have been shut down when the latest will be decommissioned.
More investment is being funnelled into solar and wind energy.
Japan has lost one-third of its power-generating capacity since it has shut down its nuclear plants.