Under the terms of the agreement, KEPCO will take an indirect 10 % stake in the Imouraren mining company, jointly owned by Areva and the Nigerien state. In return, KEPCO is entitled to 10 % of the mine’s lifelong production to exclusively supply its reactors in Korea.
KEPCO’s involvement in this industrial project provides support to the partners already developing the Imouraren mine, Areva said.
The Imouraren uranium deposit, 80km south of Arlit in northern Niger, is considered one of the biggest in the world. Mining is scheduled to begin in 2013, with an annual production capacity of 5000 tons of uranium. Imouraren will be in charge of exploiting the mine, over what is expected to be more than thirty years.
Areva and KEPCO also discussed the possibility of extending their cooperation to cover uranium conversion and enrichment activities, as well as used fuel recycling.
