First uranium production

Friday, 1 July 2011 Pilot production started on 26 June at Ukraine's Novokonstantinovskoye uranium deposit, bringing a 35-year exploration and development phase to an end. Although a ceremony to start mining took place in 2008, the project faltered amid management changes that took away and then returned control to VostGOK. Plans are for production this year of around 100 tonnes of uranium with this increasing towards 1050 tonnes per year. By 2015 Ukrainian leaders want to be self-sufficient in uranium supply for the 15 nuclear power reactors that supply about half of electricity.