Kazakhstan's annual uranium output is forecast to reach 26,000 metric tons by 2030 from 14,000 tons expected this year, a senior executive at Kazakh state nuclear fuel company Kazatomprom said Friday.
Sergey Yashin, the vice president of Kazatomprom, told an energy forum in the Kazakh capital Astana that Kazakhstan's uranium reserves of 1,728,300 tons will last for 65-70 years.
Kazakhstan expects to produce just under 14,000 tons of uranium this year. It is likely to become the world's largest uranium producer, surpassing Canada.
Kazakhstan produced 8,521 tons of uranium last year, up from 6,637 tons in 2007. Kazatomprom has set up joint ventures with nuclear energy companies from Canada, France, Russia, China and Japan to become a prominent player in the global nuclear fuel market.