Comment: Watch our Africa, the Uranium mining bullies will be coming to steal your land and ruin your lives for the price of greed!
By Yuriy Humber
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- ARMZ Uranium Holding Co., the Russian state-run miner of the radioactive metal, said it’s in talks with Areva SA to jointly develop deposits in Africa, where a fifth of the world’s uranium is located.
The companies want to tap fields in Namibia, among other African nations, because of the region’s low-cost, under- explored deposits, Dmitry Shulga, head of investor relations at Moscow-based ARMZ, said by phone today. The next round of talks is set for October, he said. Patricia Marie, a spokeswoman for state-run Areva, declined to comment on any talks with ARMZ.
“Talks are underway,” Shulga said. “I would not limit things to Namibia. The continent as a whole has a lot of potential. It is highly under-explored. There may be deposits there that will surprise the world.”
France, which relies on nuclear energy more than any other nation, and Russia are seeking to secure more uranium supply as China and India accelerate growth of atomic power generation. The Asian countries each hold 1 percent of recoverable uranium, compared with 8 percent in South Africa and 5 percent each in Namibia and Niger, the International Atomic Energy Agency says.
Areva spent $2.5 billion in 2007 to buy UraMin Inc., which operates Namibia’s biggest mine at Trekkopje, and has expanded in Niger. Namibia overtook Niger as Africa’s biggest uranium miner in 2008. “We have attractive projects and many utilities want to work with us to secure their supply,” Marie said.
Kazakhstan to Australia
ARMZ, which agreed in June to buy a stake in Toronto-based Uranium One Inc. to gain resources from Kazakhstan to Australia, is cultivating partnerships to widen supply. The company has an accord with Mitsui & Co. to assess mining in Russia’s Far East and a Canadian exploration venture with Cameco Corp.
Rosatom Corp., the parent company of ARMZ, has held talks with BHP Billiton Ltd. since 2006 on expanding its Olympic Dam site, the world’s biggest uranium mine.
“Africa is interesting for us in that it has places where no one has really looked,” Shulga said. “We’re open to partnerships and not just with Areva.” ARMZ will seek alliances with companies of “similar” size, technological levels and goals, rather than start-up exploration ventures, he said.
Canada is the world’s largest uranium mining state.
To contact the reporters on this story: Yuriy Humber in Moscow at yhumber@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: September 15, 2009 10:34 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aFh_Oki5lSJE
By Yuriy Humber
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- ARMZ Uranium Holding Co., the Russian state-run miner of the radioactive metal, said it’s in talks with Areva SA to jointly develop deposits in Africa, where a fifth of the world’s uranium is located.
The companies want to tap fields in Namibia, among other African nations, because of the region’s low-cost, under- explored deposits, Dmitry Shulga, head of investor relations at Moscow-based ARMZ, said by phone today. The next round of talks is set for October, he said. Patricia Marie, a spokeswoman for state-run Areva, declined to comment on any talks with ARMZ.
“Talks are underway,” Shulga said. “I would not limit things to Namibia. The continent as a whole has a lot of potential. It is highly under-explored. There may be deposits there that will surprise the world.”
France, which relies on nuclear energy more than any other nation, and Russia are seeking to secure more uranium supply as China and India accelerate growth of atomic power generation. The Asian countries each hold 1 percent of recoverable uranium, compared with 8 percent in South Africa and 5 percent each in Namibia and Niger, the International Atomic Energy Agency says.
Areva spent $2.5 billion in 2007 to buy UraMin Inc., which operates Namibia’s biggest mine at Trekkopje, and has expanded in Niger. Namibia overtook Niger as Africa’s biggest uranium miner in 2008. “We have attractive projects and many utilities want to work with us to secure their supply,” Marie said.
Kazakhstan to Australia
ARMZ, which agreed in June to buy a stake in Toronto-based Uranium One Inc. to gain resources from Kazakhstan to Australia, is cultivating partnerships to widen supply. The company has an accord with Mitsui & Co. to assess mining in Russia’s Far East and a Canadian exploration venture with Cameco Corp.
Rosatom Corp., the parent company of ARMZ, has held talks with BHP Billiton Ltd. since 2006 on expanding its Olympic Dam site, the world’s biggest uranium mine.
“Africa is interesting for us in that it has places where no one has really looked,” Shulga said. “We’re open to partnerships and not just with Areva.” ARMZ will seek alliances with companies of “similar” size, technological levels and goals, rather than start-up exploration ventures, he said.
Canada is the world’s largest uranium mining state.
To contact the reporters on this story: Yuriy Humber in Moscow at yhumber@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: September 15, 2009 10:34 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aFh_Oki5lSJE
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