Today’s issue is scandium, the most expensive one of the group. Scandium is needed in many fields of industry; the price of scandium oxide at the world’s market, depending on its purity, varies between $12-20 thousand per kilo. The project will be handled by Rosatom’s “daughter”, Uranium One Holding, together with Russian Intermix Met company. The parties have signed an agreement on development of auxiliary mining of scandium concentrate on the basis of Uranium One uranium-mining enterprises.
Uranium One Holding N.V. is a platform for Rosatom’s global growth in initial stages of nuclear fuel cycle. The company’s stock of orders includes uranium-mining projects in Kazakhstan, USA, Australia and South of Africa with the self-cost of final product one of the lowest in the world. Acting within the interests of Russian nuclear industry, Uranium One Holding at the moment is looking through possibilities of expanding its business with the help of products’ diversification.
The innovative technology of REM extraction and processing, created by Intermix Met, was worked out at production site of Dalur, Kurgan region, belonging to Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ, Rosatom’s extraction division); the first Russian in situ leach uranium-mining enterprise. The auxiliary mining of scandium concentrate on an industrial scale will soon start at one of uranium-mining enterprises in Kazakhstan. The choice of site is no coincidence: the unique technology can be applied only at in situ leach uranium deposits; the major ones of the type are only in Kazakhstan. After extraction the concentrate will be processed to scandium oxide at the Intermix met metallurgical plant in the town of Lermontov. The technology will be at the same time applied at other Uranium One Holding enterprises.
In future the partners are going to build a new full-cycle processing enterprise, from REM extraction to processing and selling. The first final product is planned to be obtained in 2016. The target overall production is 6 tons of scandium oxide a year.
“The realization of this international project under the circumstances of world’s uranium market price instability is a great opportunity for Uranium One Holding to enter a new segment with a great growth potential and further take a leading position in it, getting access to new innovative competences; diversify business and increase its marginality with the help of extra revenue, – noted Vadim Zhivov, President of Uranium One Holding N.V. – At the same time, we, being Rosatom’s global growth platform, together with our partners will be able to satisfy the need in scandium of nuclear and other branches of Russian industry.
“Our technical skills in rare and REM extraction combined with Rosatom’s wide-scale raw-materials base creates one of the world’s major scandium and scandium-based products producer”, – emphasized Sergey Makhov, chairman of the Board of Directors of Intermix Met. Scandium is used in nuclear and alternative power industry, defense and aerospace industries, microelectronics, medicine and oil refining industry.
