Kazakhstan plans to sell concentrated uranium to Brazil to shore up fuel reserves in its nuclear power plants. The Central Asian nation also plans to help Sao Paulo develop its own uranium ore resources, which are significant.
“We proposed the participation of Kazakhstan in tenders for the purchase of uranium or any other type of fuel that might be used in the Brazilian industry,” Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev said after meeting with Brazilian energy officials, reports Reuters.
“There is untapped potential in Brazil and we have the know-how to run large projects.”
Kazakhstan’s national industrial operator of the resource, Kazatomprom, produces one-third of the world’s uranium, to be used in reactors, as well as nuclear weapons.
Brazil’s mining industry has suffered due to lack of investment and corruption, similar to other commodity sectors, such as hydrocarbons. Environmental delays have also hampered domestic uranium production.
