Orano gets go-ahead from Mongolia for $1.6 billion uranium mine

France’s Orano SA got the go-ahead from Mongolia’s government to develop a $1.6 billion uranium project in the country.

Mongolian and French officials signed an investment agreement Friday in Ulaanbaatar, the French state-controlled mining company said in a statement. Orano and Mongolia’s state-owned MonAtom Group will together develop deposits holding an estimated 90,000 tons of uranium.

The approval is a boon to Orano after the project faced several delays, caused in part by debates over protecting strategic resources in the East Asian nation. Demand for uranium is expected to grow as countries around the world add new nuclear reactors to boost output of emissions-free power.

The mining project will have a three-decade lifespan and an estimated production capacity of about 2,500 tons of uranium a year, Orano said in the statement. Startup is expected in 2028.

The development will help shore up supply for the French company, which has recently faced problems in West Africa. Orano said last month that Niger’s military junta had taken over its Somair uranium mine in an escalating dispute.

(By Terrence Edwards)

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