Kazakhstan's national uranium production
company, Kazatomprom, will decrease uranium production by 20 percent
over the next three years due to oversupply and falling demand, the
company announced on Monday.
The scheduled three-year production cut will start in January 2018, according to the world's largest producer.
The
total production cut will be 11,000 tons over the period of which an
estimated 4 thousand tons in 2018 alone represents approximately 7.5
percent of global uranium production for the year, the company said.
"Given
the challenging market conditions, and in light of continued oversupply
in the uranium market, we have taken the strategic decision to reduce
production in order to better align our production levels with market
demand," Galymzhan Pirmatov, chairman of the management board of
Kazatomprom was quoted as saying.
"We
believe that these measures strongly underline our commitment to
ensuring the long-term sustainability of uranium mining, a critical
component in the generation of clean, carbon-free electricity around the
globe," Pirmatov said.
Kazakhstan
produced the largest global share of uranium at 39 percent from mines in
2016, followed by Canada with 22 percent and Australia with10 percent,
according to the World Nuclear Association.
(Anadolu Agency)