Decree allows further development at Russian ISL project

Development of the Tsentralnaya and Zapadnaya fields is already under way at the Khokhlovskoye deposit, Kamol Kadyrov, first deputy director general of JSC Dalur said.

"Changing the land category will allow us to start building infrastructure and to further develop three more fields - Vostochnaya, Dalnevostochnaya and Dyuryaginskaya," he added, and will mean that Shumikha will become the centre of uranium mining in Kurgan region from 2022-23.

Some 60 new jobs will be created at the deposit this year, Kadyrov said. Dalur said it will continue its support for local social projects, including education and road repairs. At the district level, it is building new railway facilities and access railway lines, while a new electricity substation, chemical warehouse and water tower have also been built. Development of the Khokhlovskoye deposit fields will allow Dalur to maintain total uranium production at the current levels, the company said.

Uranium production in the Kurgan region is by in-situ leach methods. Dalur - a subsidiary of Atomredmetzoloto Uranium Holding (ARMZ), the mining division of state atomic energy corporation Rosatom - was the first uranium producer in Russia to use in-situ leach methods. The company is responsible for three uranium deposits in the Trans-Ural uranium ore district: Dalmatovskoye, which is under commercial development; Khokhlovskoye; and Dobrovolnoye, where construction is under way with a view to commercial operations later this year.