Russia will sell to China the mines of the world's largest uranium producer.

The largest uranium producer in the world, the state company Kazatomprom from Kazakhstan, announced the exit of Uranium One Group from its joint ventures in the country. Uranium One Group is part of the Russian state corporation Rosatom.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Reuters.

Kazatomprom is the biggest uranium producer globally and possesses the largest reserves of the resource. In 2023, it accounted for 20% of the world's primary uranium production. However, the company is lacking its own uranium processing capacities.

Previously, stakes in 6 out of 14 of the company's deposits belonged to Rosatom. However, due to sanctions, the Uranium One Group sold its 49.979% stake in the Zarechnoye mine to SNURDC Astana Mining Company Limited, whose ultimate beneficiary is a Chinese state-owned company focused on the development of nuclear uranium resources.

Additionally, Uranium One Group will sell 30% of China Uranium Development Company Limited, whose ultimate beneficiary is the China National Nuclear Corporation. It is worth noting that China is the largest buyer of Kazakh uranium.

It is also known that after the sale of stakes, Rosatom will still retain interests in Kazatomprom's deposits, which have total reserves of 255,000 tons. This includes the Budennovskoye deposit, one of the largest in the world, which Rosatom acquired through an agreement disclosed in 2023.

Earlier, we reported that the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to pass a bill banning the import of enriched uranium from Russia. Following this, the document was sent to the White House for President Biden's signature.