Rosatom expands operation sphere of its uranium holding Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ) in Russia. From now on the company will concentrate not only on uranium mining, but also on development of other metals, including gold, zinc and lead. Foreign assets will be concentrated in Uranium One Holding, which will be created renaming Dutch Effective Energy N., as said Rosatom’s representative to “RIA Novosti”; Russian information agency.

Full-Scale Development
It is now supposed that ARMZ will be headed by Vladimir Verkhovtsev, Deputy Director for Special project during the last two years, while the head of Uranium One Holding will be Vadim Zhivov, Uranium One Director today. U1 Holding will report directly to Atomenergoprom (integrated company consolidating civil assets in nuclear industry) and will get 100% of Australian Mantra Resources assets and U1 stake. ARMZ will retain only Russian enterprises: PIMCU uranium combine in Krasnokamensk, Dalur and Khiagda deposits, gold mining assets in and Pavlov lead-zinc deposit in Novaya Zemlya.

“The Corporation is planning to develop both Russian and foreign projects for uranium mining and other metals. However if they all are represented by the same legal entity, Russian assets, because of their lower profitability, will keep losing the investment resource fight”, – said Rosatom’s representative. According to him if ARMZ owns only Russian projects, it will develop them to the utmost, while the decision concerning priority financing of projects will be made at a higher corporation level”.

This restructuring decision also protects enterprises like PIMCU (Uranium mining combine in Zabaykalie), where social factor should also be taken into consideration. “Thousands of people who dedicated all their lives to nuclear industry currently work there and we are determined to provide them with their work and decent future” – they said in Rosatom.