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The former head of Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's state-run nuclear energy company, was accused of embezzling state shares in uranium deposits, including one co- owned by Canada's Uranium One Inc. Uranium One fell the most in almost nine years on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Mukhtar Dzhakishev, who was arrested earlier this week, abused his position as Kazatomprom chief and embezzled state shares in "large uranium deposits" by "transferring" them to offshore companies, Kazakhstan's National Security Committee said today on its Web site. On Dzhakishev's orders, Kazatomprom in 2005 sold a 30 percent stake in TOO Kyzylkum, a joint venture with Uranium One's UrAsia London Limited unit, for 15.6 million tenge (about $103,000), the committee said. "Proof of illegal transfers of mining rights for other deposits was also uncovered," it said. Dzhakishev's mobile phone was not in service when called by Bloomberg News. Kazatomprom spokesman Sergei Nasyrov declined to comment on the report.

Kazakhstan's uranium production will hit 13,500 metric tons in 2009, or up 58% from last year, making the ex-Soviet state the world's leading uranium producer, Kazatomprom said on Tuesday. "Consolidated revenue from the sale of Kazatomprom's output in 2009 will exceed last year's level by 53%," the country's nuclear holding company said in a statement. Kazatomprom earlier said it expected to receive a net income of 49 billion tenge ($326.6 million) in 2009. The company is currently developing areas like natural uranium conversion and enrichment, fuel production for reactors, and the creation and operation of small and medium-sized reactors. Kazatomprom is the national operator for the import and export of uranium, rare metals, nuclear fuel for power plants, special equipment and duel-purpose materials. The company is wholly owned by the government of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's uranium production will hit 13,500 metric tons in 2009, or up 58% from last year, making the ex-Soviet state the world's leading uranium producer, Kazatomprom said on Tuesday. "Consolidated revenue from the sale of Kazatomprom's output in 2009 will exceed last year's level by 53%," the country's nuclear holding company said in a statement. Kazatomprom earlier said it expected to receive a net income of 49 billion tenge ($326.6 million) in 2009. The company is currently developing areas like natural uranium conversion and enrichment, fuel production for reactors, and the creation and operation of small and medium-sized reactors. Kazatomprom is the national operator for the import and export of uranium, rare metals, nuclear fuel for power plants, special equipment and duel-purpose materials. The company is wholly owned by the government of Kazakhstan.

In a statement June 12, Kazatomprom sought to reassure worried foreign investors that no existing agreements with foreign shareholders would be changed, despite turnover at the company and the reported arrest of its former president, Moukhtar Dzhakishev, last month. Kazatomprom, or KAP, is the world's third-largest uranium producer. In the statement, KAP's new president, Vladimir Shkolnik, said the company "understands its responsibility for resources provision of the world nuclear power industry." Shkolnik said KAP would continue the same pace of development "in order to cover the growing demand [for] our products." KAP said that its top management had met with foreign partners over the past two weeks to discuss implementation of plans ranging from uranium mining to new joint ventures. In particular, it said, negotiations were held with the representatives of Marubeni, Sumitomo, Nuclear Fuel Industries, and Japanese financial and credit and insurance companies and banks, including NEXI, JBIC, ERM, and ING. KAP said management had also met with Atomredmetzoloto, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd., Areva, Uranium One, Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd., and others which it did not name. The statement said KAP management would meet soon with Cameco, Toshiba and Westinghouse Electric on further development of cooperation.

Kazakhstan on Wednesday signed a deal that would see it build nuclear power plants for China, as well as provide its energy-hungry neighbour with more than 24,000 tonnes of uranium. The deal between state nuclear agency Kazatomprom and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) calls for the creation of a joint venture to build power plants for energy-hungry China, the Kazakh firm said in a statement. "National atomic energy agency Kazatomprom and CGNPC signed a memorandum regarding the creation of a joint enterprise to build atomic energy stations in China," Kazatomprom said.

The feasibility study for the Aktau nuclear power plant (NPP) is currently being appraised by the state regulators, while the first block of the power plant is scheduled for launch in 2016, Kazatomprom vice president Sergei Yashin said. "The feasibility study has been completed and currently being appraised by the authorized state agencies," Yashin said at the forum of Kazakhstan Energy Week on Friday in Astana. Yashin reminded that the design and building of VBER-300 reactor and the NPP was the prerogative of the Russian-Kazakh joint venture established in October last year.

Kazakhstan's security service said on Wednesday some of the country's uranium fields had been sold illegally to foreign firms by Kazakh state uranium company Kazatomprom, in a move certain to alarm investors. [ID:nLR384428] Below is the list of key Kazakh uranium joint ventures in which foreign companies have stakes. KYZYLKUM Kyzylkum operates Khorasan-1, Kazakhstan's largest uranium mine with reserves of more than 80,000 tonnes. Canada's Uranium One (UUU.TO) owns 30 percent in its operating company Kyzylkum. A consortium of Japanese firms including Toshiba Corporation (6502.T), TEPCO (9501.T), Chubu Electric (9502.T), Tohoku Electric (9506.T), Kyushu Electric (9508.T) and Marubeni Corporation (8002.T) owns a 40 percent stake. The rest belongs to Kazatomprom.

"Grandey, chief executive of Cameco Corp, admits to being an anti-nuclear activist in his youth. His company is now among the leading foreign investors in Kazakhstan's fast-growing uranium sector. Kazakhstan surpassed Canada last year as the world's largest uranium miner. With more than 15 percent of global reserves, the Central Asian state is poised to become the primary supplier of the metal to a new generation of nuclear reactors worldwide. "The uranium potential of Kazakhstan is remarkable," said Gregory Vojack, an Almaty-based attorney at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP who advised state nuclear firm Kazatomprom on a $500 million Eurobond last month. The issue was eight times oversubscribed. Global uranium consumption is forecast by the World Nuclear Association to reach 91,537 tonnes by 2020 and 106,128 tonnes by 2030, increases of 33 percent and 55 percent respectively from the 68,646 tonnes forecast for this year."

Canada's Cameco Corporation and Kazatomprom of Kazakhstan have announced the formation of a new joint-owned company, Ulba Conversion LLP, to move forward with development work on a 12,000 tonne uranium hexafluoride conversion facility in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, the world's third- biggest uranium miner, plans to overtake Canada and Australia next year by producing 12,826 metric tons of the radioactive metal. The country is aiming to become the world's biggest producer of uranium, Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the president of state- run Kazatomprom, told reporters in Almaty today. The company plans to produce more than 9,000 tons of uranium this year, he said.

As a result of uncertainty created by the Kazakh government's investigation of uranium supplier Kazatomprom, the spot price of uranium has rebounded slightly and stands at $49.50/lb U3O8, according a report by Ux Consulting Monday. The price publisher observed that the 50 cent increase in price compared with its May 26 report was significant, given that the price was clearly trending down before the impact of the Kazakh news "sank in." TradeTech, which dropped its published price $1/lb to $49/lb on May 29, said that prices had dipped below $49/lb early in the week of May 25, but recovered by the end of the week.

*Kazakhstan aims to be world No.1 uranium exporter in 2009 *Mine to produce 3,000 tonnes uranium by 2014 *Output mostly destined for Japan KHORASAN, Kazakhstan, April 24 (Reuters) - Japan opened a major uranium mine in Kazakhstan on Friday, gaining access to alternative energy supplies from resource-rich Central Asia. Khorasan-1, tucked away in the arid steppes of southern Kazakhstan, is being developed by a group of Japanese firms including Toshiba Corp (6502.T), as well as Kazakh state uranium company Kazatomprom and a unit of Canada's Uranium One (UUU.TO).

Toshiba Corp., Japan's largest supplier of reactors, is in talks to buy nuclear-fuel rod assemblies from Kazakhstan after opening a new uranium mine in the central Asian nation. Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida, speaking in Almaty, the country's financial center, declined to say when an agreement may be signed or how much it may be worth. Kazakhstan's state-owned Kazatomprom, Canadian miner Uranium One Inc., Toshiba and a group of Japanese companies led by Tokyo Electric Power Co. yesterday opened a mine in southern Kazakhstan as the country seeks to supply about a third of Japanese uranium demand by 2014. The partners have invested $490 million in the TOO Kyzylkum joint venture, which aims to produce 3,000 metric tons of uranium from the mine in 2014.