MONGOLIA IS PREPARING TO ENTER THE GLOBAL URANIUM MARKET

A.Khaliun
In May 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron paid a state visit to our country. During the visit, the two countries agreed to cooperate in several areas, including in the uranium sector. Five months later, the first state visit of Mongolian President U. Khurelsukh to France took place on October 10-14 at the invitation of President Macron. The visit raised mutual relations and cooperation to a high level and initiated interaction in many areas. The Mongolian public is attentively waiting to see the progress that will made in uranium mining..
France’s Orano Mining Group is the third-largest uranium company in the world. Badrakh Energy LLC, established with the group’s investment, has conducted uranium exploration in Dornogobi aimag and received permission to operate three uranium deposits. The first deposit is the Zuuvch Ovoo deposit, located more than 100 kilometers south of Sainshand city, on the border of Ulaanbadrakh and Zuunbayan soums.
During President U. Khurelsukh’s visit to France, S. Narantsogt, Executive Director of Erdenes Mongol LLC, representing the Mongolian side, signed the protocol of the working group for the preparation of the draft investment agreement between the Government of Mongolia and Orano Mining. This signing moved the start of the Zuuvch Ovoo project one step forward “The two countries are going to cooperate on very important projects that are the backbone of energy transition. I am fully confident that these projects will bring great benefits to the environment, society, the economy, and local communities,” French President. Macron said during a joint statement with President Khurelsukh.
In addition, Mr. Claude Imauven, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Orano Mining Group, stated, “We plan to invest $1.6 billion in four projects in Mongolia. Our priority is environmentally friendly and safe mining. We know that Mongolian people’s lives are closely linked to nature. We respect that as well. Mongolia, with its rich reserves of rare earth elements, can become a major player in the world at a time of rapid global warming. The main way to combat climate change is nuclear energy.”
This will be the second largest foreign investment for Mongolia after the Oyu Tolgoi project. During the President’s visit, the Zuuvch Ovoo project was announced and information on the investment volume and economic return was provided. President U. Khurelsukh’s visit to France and the signing of an investment agreement in the uranium sector coincided with the start of the Mining Week international mining conference in Mongolia.
On the fifth day of the five-day conference held in Ulaanbaatar from October 9 to 13, Marc Meleard, Executive Director of Badrakh Energy LLC, presented the world-class Zuuvch Ovoo uranium project to mining industry representatives. “In presenting the Zuuvch Ovoo project to you, I am pleased to note that Orano Mining Group and Erdenes Mongol LLC have agreed on the key terms of the investment agreement for the Zuuvch Ovoo project and that the presidents of both countries were present at this event in France,” he said.
Marc Meleard: “Badrakh Energy LLC was jointly established by the Mongolian state owned company Mon Atom and the French group Orano Mining. The Orano Mining Group has numerous projects in other countries including Canada, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Algeria, and will soon commence its operations in Mongolia.
Our company started exploration work in 1997 and has 25 years of experience. We have special licenses for the development of three fields: Zuuvch Ovoo, Dulaan-Uul, and Umnut. We are currently working on a draft investment agreement for the Zuuvch Ovoo deposit.
If the investment agreement is approved, construction of the mine will continue for 3-4 years, after which production will begin. The mine will be operated for 33 years. Rehabilitation and closure of the mine will continue for a further 10-20 years. Thus, this project will last for more than 50 years.
The Zuuvch Ovoo deposit has uranium reserves of 100,000 tons and is among the ten largest uranium deposits discovered in the world over the past 20 years. Mongolia is about to start uranium mining for the first time since the transition to a free economy.
In 2021-2022, we implemented pilot production for 18 months. The results were so good that some changes were made to the feasibility study. We are pleased with the results of the trial, which confirm the viability of the project.