News archive :: Year 2006

14-08-2006 09:50

Processing Factory in Kurchatov will be startup in August 2006

The startup of processing factory constructed by JSC Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) for the processing of fluorite in the Karadzhal deposit (Kurchatov) will be startup at the end of August, 2006. This was announced during press-conference to journalists by Alexander Gagarin, First Deputy Director and also Chief Engineer of UMP, reported Kazakhstan Today Agency. 

According to A. Gagarin statement, factory capacity will be up to 36.5 thousand tons per year. The factory is constructed for production of flotation fluorite concentrate. Another factory production will be metallurgical concentrate (fluxes for iron and steel industry) - 4 thousand tons per year. These volumes of productions, as A. Gagarin says, will meet UMP requirements for hydrofluoric acid and enable to vend it to consumers in Kazakhstan and outside the country.
Factory productivity is rated for processing of 100 thousand tons of fluorite ore per year. Factory construction investments amounted to about 1 milliard 200 million tenge.

Karadzhal field reserves, according to expert's opinion, will be available for 16 years (until 2022), but considering forecast resources, the factory operating period will extend, at least, for 10 years.

UMP contract with Kazakhstani government for exploration and pilot production of fluorite is signed in 2000. In 2002 after reserves approbation, the document giving the right to UMP for deposit experimental development was signed and afterwards experimental-industrial production of Karadzhal fluorite deposit was started.

Totally 174 thousand tons of fluorite ore was recovered.

Currently, the volume of quartz-fluorite ore reserves is suitable for processing of 1545.6 thousand tons. The considerable reserves where ore reserves are roughly estimated for one more million tons are also projected on the deposit flanks.

As reported earlier, Ulba Metallurgical Plant is affiliated enterprise of National Atomic Company Kazatomprom, where Kazatomprom owns 90% of its shares. UMP specializes on manufacturing of materials for nuclear, aerospace, electrical engineering and instrument-making industry. The plant is a main producer of low-enriched uranium pellets for VVER and RBMK reactors, and also diversified beryllium, tantalum and niobium products, hydrofluoric acid. 

The information is prepared by N. Zhdanova