The South Djengeldi uranium project in Uzbekistan will be developed by Nurlikum Mining, with Japanese firm ITOCHU Corporation joining French company Orano and state-owned Uzbek uranium producer Navoiyuran in the joint venture.
Under the agreement signed by Orano and Navoiyuran, South Djengeldi will be integrated into Navoiyuran’s existing industrial base, with the Uzbek company serving as the project operator. The agreement also marks ITOCHU Corporation’s entry into the venture, acquiring a minority stake, though Orano did not disclose the exact shareholding.
Based on certified resources, South Djengeldi is expected to support uranium production for over a decade, with peak output reaching 700 tU per year. The partners also plan to launch an exploration program aimed at “at least doubling” the project’s mineral resources.
According to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 2022 uranium resource report, Uzbekistan had approximately 131,290 tU of identified uranium resources recoverable at costs up to $130 per kgU as of January 2021. The country has been producing uranium since 1946, relying entirely on in-situ recovery methods since the mid-1990s. In 2022, Uzbekistan produced an estimated 3,300 tU, ranking as the world’s fifth-largest uranium producer and accounting for about 7% of global output.
Strategic Expansion in the Kyzylkum Desert
Nurlikum Mining was established in 2019 as a 51/49% joint venture between Orano and Navoiyuran to develop the Djengeldi uranium deposit, located in the Kyzylkum Desert. The venture secured two exploration permits for Djengeldi North and South in 2020. According to the joint venture, Djengeldi holds 12,500 tons of uranium resources registered by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology, though these have yet to be confirmed under JORC international standards.
South Djengeldi is part of a broader cooperation framework between Navoiyuran and Orano, established under a strategic agreement signed with the Uzbek government in 2022.
Xavier Saint Martin Tillet, senior executive vice president of Orano’s mining division, emphasized that the project would diversify the company’s production sources. “This new phase was made possible by the work undertaken over the past five years in Uzbekistan,” he stated. “Orano aims to bring its geological and technical expertise to the project’s development and support the expansion of the company’s operations.”