Uranium rich Kazakhstan to hold referendum next week on nuclear power plant

Uranium-rich Kazakhstan has the necessary technological capabilities and adequate natural resources to build a nuclear power plant, said Gulmira Mursalova, deputy director of the atomic industry department at the Kazakh Energy Ministry.

Kazakhstan will hold a referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant on October 6. According to a survey conducted by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, more than half of surveyed Kazakh citizens are prepared to participate in the upcoming referendum.

Kazakhstan is a key supplier of uranium to India.

The country has sufficient uranium reserves and produces finished fuel in the form of fuel pellets. Today, Kazakhstan’s explored uranium reserves total 900,000 tons. Also, Kazakhstan holds high positions in terms of research, reported the Khabar TV channel.

Mursalova said that if a nuclear power plant is built, Kazakhstan will have enough nuclear fuel to cover all its needs.

“We have the right technology to build a nuclear power plant in accordance with French or Chinese technologies. Regarding technologies from South Korea or Russia, for instance, they will be a little bit different and include more lines. We do not have two stages, conversion and enrichment of uranium. However, the President noted in his address last year that it is necessary to deal with this question,” she said.