OREANDA-NEWS. July 08, 2011. The State Enterprise "Eastern ore mining and processing enterprise" has started commercial production of uranium ore at Novokostyantynivka deposit in Kirovograd region.

Start mining ore in this deposit is an integral part of measures to implement the provisions of the state target program "Nuclear fuel", aimed at completing the tasks of the Energy Strategy of Ukraine, which, inter alia, provides for the progressive reduction of Ukraine's dependence on imported natural uranium concentrate.

By the end of 2011 at Novokostyantynivska deposit it is planned to extract 75 thousand tons of ore from which will be received up to 99 tons of uranium. Further implementation of the program "Nuclear fuel" allows Ukraine will be completely independent of the supply of nuclear fuel, uranium concentrate and zirconium products since 2020.

Novokostyantynivska deposit is crucial for Ukraine. On stocks of uranium it is the largest in the Europe also is in top ten the largest deposits of the world.

Novokostyantynivska mine was returned to the Enterprise "Eastern MPE" by the Order of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine dated November 26, 2009 № 659 "On reorganization of the State Enterprise" Enterprise management which is built on the basis of the Novokostiantynivka deposit. "

The State Enterprise "Eastern ore mining and processing enterprise" - the only enterprise in Ukraine that provides for uranium mining and production of its oxide concentrate. The Enterprise was founded in 1951. The plant occupies a worthy position among world producers of uranium and is the largest in Europe.

The company operates in three regions: in Kirovograd region Ingulsk Smolinskoyu mines uranium; in Dnipropetrovsk region (Zhovti Vody) uranium ore is processed at the hydrometallurgical plant, in Mykolaiv - are working with environmental monitoring of spent by borehole underground leaching field Bratsk.