The world’s largest uranium producer, Kazatomprom, remains unaffected by the ongoing turmoil in the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan.
“Uranium mining is going according to plan, there have been no stoppages,” a Kazatomprom spokesperson said. “The company is fulfilling its export contracts.”
Uranium prices have spiked to $45.50 per pound, the highest since November 30, as protests and security crackdowns spread across the country.
Uranium prices have risen after unrest in Kazakhstan which was spurred initially by protests against fuel price hikes.
But the central Asian country’s political turmoil does not seem to have so far affected key industries.
“Uranium mining is going according to plan there have been no stoppages. The company is fulfilling its export contracts,” a Kazatomprom spokesperson said.
The widespread protests initially started in the oil-rich west of the country in response to rising prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which many Kazakhs use to power their cars. The protests have now grown to include critics of Kazakhstan’s long autocratic rule.
Kazakhstan has a history of social upheaval. Nursultan Nazarbayev ruled a former Soviet state, Kazakhstan, from 1991 until 2019. Nazarbayev ally Kassym-Jomart Toqayev was elected president in a vote condemned by observers as unfree in 2019. Nazarbayev remained in government in a national security position.
To subdue the protests, Toqayev dismissed his cabinet and Nazarbayev, BBC News reported. Toqayev has also called on Russian-led regional security organization CSTO to restore order to the country.
Around 1,000 have been injured, while dozens of anti-government protesters have reportedly been killed in Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty.
The continued unrest on January 6 prompted a selloff of uranium stocks quoted in Toronto, halting uranium equities rallying up until Wednesday.
Canadian uranium companies such as Cameco, Denison Mines, and NexGen Energy retreated from their gains, each falling between 5% to 7% in early morning trading Thursday.
Kazatomprom’s London-listed shares were down almost 5% on Thursday, to the lowest since end-September and adding to Wednesday’s 8% drop. But shares in other uranium producers, such as Cameco, were up till Wednesday, trending up nearly 12% in the year to date.
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