OREANDA-NEWS. November 12, 2012. The trial consignment of natural uranium arrived to the sea port of Saint-Petersburg, Russia from Australia. This is the first shipment of Australian natural uranium to the Russian Federation, implemented under the framework of Russia-Australia Intergovernmental Agreement on the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy signed 2007(Intergovernmental Agreement 2007).

The delivery of uranium was executed under the contract between JSC Techsnabexport, subsidiary company of the Rosatom State Corporation, and Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (Rio Tinto group) signed on the 6th of June during the ATOMEXPO 2012. Australian natural uranium will be reprocessed at the JSC Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises. Afterwards the resulted low enriched uranium hexafluoride will be supplied by JSC Techsnabexport to the foreign utility.

“Execution of this relatively small, but very important contract gives a green light to Australian natural uranium to be used as feed material for SWU contracts between Western utilities and TENEX. Material movement accounting papers on this contract will be provided to the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO), according to the signed agreement in June 2011 by the Rosatom State Corporation and ASNO Administrative Arrangements to the Intergovernmental Agreement 2007. This delivery increases the competitiveness of Russian supplier,” - noted TENEX Acting Director General Lyudmila Zalimskaya.