At the end of February Uranium One Holding, Rosatom’s urarium mining asset manager abroad, announced its plans concerning extraction of scandium. The project will be implemented in a partnership with Kazatomprom and Russian Intermix Met, the developer of associated extraction technology. With uranium prices falling, scandium extraction will help Uranium One Holding seriously improve the Kazakhstan projects’ economy, as Vadfim Zhivov, the company’s President, believes.
– What the new Project is about and how did the idea appear?
– The technology suggests scandium extraction from product solutions received during downhole in situ leach uranium extraction. This idea is as much as 30 years old; it first started to be developed by VNIIHT (Rosatom’s institute doing a full-cycle scientific research and experimental-design projects meant to create reasonable high-tech technologies for manufacturing uranium and nuclear pure metals for atomic and other industries). Intermix Met specialists developed economically effective means of extraction. As a matter of fact, Sergey Makhov, Chairman of the Board of Directors, is a well-known person in scientific sphere.
The only Russian in situ leach enterprise is Rosatom’s Dalur, that’s why Intermix Met addressed us. I have to admit, however, that in 2010 we took the offer somewhat skeptically. But Mr. Makhov and his partners were ready to invest their own money and we decided to cooperate. In February 2013 pilot mining was started at Dalur. Gradually it became clear that there certainly were prospects. Rosatom’s heads saw the first results, technology’s scaling features, and the Uranium One project got its development.
Scandium is a high-force material, that’s why it is used for satellites, rockets, for designing robots, in laser technology. Its alloys are used for producing sports equipment, such as bicycle frames and brassies.
– One of your future partners is Kazatonprom – the national operator of the Republic of Kazakhstan. What is its interest?
– The project’s future is directly connected with technology’s scaling to our six mines in Kazakhstan. With such a volume associated extraction becomes industrial and economically fair. Our Kazakh partners tried to work in this direction. We showed how the project was implemented at Russian Dalur. Scandium concentrate associated extraction can become part of Russian-Kazakh innovative development program, which is currently being discussed between our countries.
– Who will sell scandium and who will buy it?
– All realization will be done with the help of our joint enterprise. Intermix Met will submit their technology for our exclusive use. As for final production bulk, we are planning to sell it on the basis of long-term contracts. Kazatomprom now has working agreements with several Japanese scandium-using companies; besides, Kazakhstan develops alternative energy that needs scandium for some of the projects. Intermix Met supplies scandium and its products for several Russian enterprises, such as Roskosmos and Rostech.
– Is this technology more efficient than the existing ones?
– The production self-cost will allow us earning money even if the cost of scandium decreases.
– Why don’t you think of producing other rare-earth metals?
– The Kazakh party is interested in joint rare-earth metals’ extraction on Russian territory with their further processing at Kazatopmrom enterprises. We’ve created a working group for analyzing perspectives of this. We have many interesting ideas. Thus, now we together with Kazatopmrom are working on the project which will result in full cut-off of hydrocarbon usage for providing energy to our sites. Many objects, such as geological exploration ones, are located far from electricity mains and stationery sources, they are supported by diesel aggregates. This is the situation we are willing to change. Starting from 2014 we are going to install PV panels produced in Kazakhstan. There are other projects in this sphere as well; using wind energy from Kazakh prairies is complicated: since it is too strong, it just knocks the wind generators down. However our partners have an innovation – vertical rotor wind motors able to resist this extreme condition. We may take part in their production.
– What is economical effect?
– Diesel installments are expensive from the point of view of electric energy self-cost, while alternative sources are almost twice cheaper. We have to use energy accumulators as well; and diesels should be kept just in case. If the project works, we’ll enter Russian and the third-parties markets using TVEL’s and Atomenergomash’s schemes. Now we are analyzing possibilities of producing different types of serial installments using alternative sources of energy. I believe it is quite possible to organize production at the PIMCU plants site (major uranium-mining enterprise of Russia); at the TVEL (Rosatom’s fuel company) site or other Rosatom’s enterprises, where it will get maximum efficiency. I’m talking about 20-60 kW installments that may be used for energy supply of GLONASS, for remote objects’ physical protection, in the areas of high north, for mining companies and in melioration. First we’ll have to give a thorough study to the autonomous small power supply sources’ market. We’ll start not with an attempt to sell but with determining and forming a market niche for the product.
