These sales, further solidify China's position as the largest buyer of Kazakh uranium
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom is selling its stakes in several joint-venture uranium projects with the world’s largest uranium producer, Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom, to Chinese-controlled companies, Kazatomprom said in a press release on December 17.
Specifically, Uranium One Group JSC, part of the Rosatom State Corporation group of companies, sold 49.979% of its shares in Zarechnoye JV JSC to SNURDC Astana Mining Company Limited, whose ultimate beneficiary is State Nuclear Uranium Resources Development Co., Ltd ( PRC).
JSC “SP ‘Zarechnoye’ mines uranium in the Zarechnoye deposit in the Turkestan region, which was discovered in 1977. The deposit's reserves at the beginning of 2024 amounted to about 3.5 thousand tons of uranium. The field development is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
Uranium One Group JSC will also sell 30 percent of the equity shares in JV Khorasan-U LLP and 30 percent of the equity shares in Kyzylkum LLP to China Uranium Development Company Limited, the ultimate beneficiary company of which is China General Nuclear Power Corporation, subject to the completion of closing procedures by the parties to the transaction.
JV Khorasan-U LLP mines uranium at the Kharasan-1 site of the northern Kharasan deposit in the Zhanakorgan district of Kyzylorda region. The deposit's reserves at the beginning of 2024 amount to about 33 thousand tons of uranium with a service life until 2038. All uranium mined by JV Khorasan-U LLP is processed at Kyzylkum LLP's production facilities located directly on the mine site. Kyzylkum LLP does not own any subsoil rights and only provides uranium processing services.
The move comes amid increasing challenges posed to Rosatom's international dealings due to Western sanctions on Russia introduced in response to the Ukraine conflict. Kazatomprom has continued to face challenges due to its association with Rosatom, including difficulties in selling uranium to Western buyers. Around 29% of the company's output is sold to Europe, but sanctions on Russian entities and executives have raised risks for Kazatomprom’s operations and reputation, even though Rosatom itself has not been directly sanctioned.
As reported by Reuters, Kazatomprom outlined risks in its latest annual report, noting some of Rosatom’s group companies as well as senior Russian nuclear power industry executives were under sanctions.
"There are also risks associated with Russian partners in the Group’s subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures, including reputational and corporate governance risks," it said.
While Kazatomprom retains its existing stakes in these projects, the sale further solidifies China's position as the largest buyer of Kazakh uranium. China’s increased involvement aligns with its broader efforts to secure critical resources for its expanding nuclear energy sector.
Rosatom previously held stakes in six of Kazatomprom’s 14 uranium deposits. It will maintain stakes in Kazatomprom deposits with combined reserves of 255,000 tonnes, including the massive Budennovskoye deposit, one of the world's largest uranium reserves.
Ukrainian political analyst and former advisor to Ukraine's internal affairs minister, Anton Gerashenko, shared his view in a post on X that Rosatom’s stake sales signify Russia’s loss of influence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia more widely.
“China is pushing Russia out of Kazakhstan's uranium sector — Russia is gradually losing its influence in Central Asia,” Gerashenko asserted, noting that “with Russia diminished, Kazakhstan is choosing China—and the shift looks irreversible.”
Gerashenko cited the weakening of Russia’s economy and a loss of credibility of Moscow as a regional security leader—after the war in Ukraine exposed its military vulnerabilities—as two of the primary reasons for Kazakhstan “choosing” Chinese influence.
"Historically, as a former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan maintained close economic and security ties with Russia. Cooperation seemed stronger than ever when Russian-led CSTO troops intervened to suppress protests in Kazakhstan in January 2022. However, Russia's war in Ukraine has dramatically altered the balance" added Gerashenko.
"Sanctions have made Russia’s economy far less competitive, leaving China as the dominant economic partner. Last year, China overtook Russia as Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching $41 billion. Even Kazakhstan's brief role as a hub for sanctions avoidance wasn’t enough to bridge the growing economic gap.
Russia has lost its credibility as a regional security provider. The war exposed Moscow’s military vulnerabilities, and other neighbors have grown wary of aligning too closely with a regime that harbors colonial ambitions. This has made cooperation with China far more appealing.
The optics reflect this shift. At the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev personally welcomed Xi Jinping at the airport—an honor not extended to his long-time CSTO ally, Vladimir Putin. Tokayev, fluent in Chinese and a former diplomat to Beijing, clearly understands where Kazakhstan’s future lies.
China and Kazakhstan are now expanding cooperation in critical sectors like logistics. Positioned as a key hub for China-Europe trade, Kazakhstan benefits from Beijing’s push to improve transit infrastructure across the region.
The uranium deal underscores the scale of change. Russia’s economic and geopolitical decline has forced it to cede ground to China, potentially in exchange for Beijing’s tacit support of its war effort. Either way, China emerges as the clear winner—strengthening its hold over Central Asia while extracting economic and strategic benefits from Russia’s weakening position." he added.
According to IntelliNews, however, Gerashenko's comments rhyme with the background of Russia's acquisition of Uranium One in 2010. Leaked videos of interrogations of former Kazatomprom chief Mukhtar Dzhakishev, leaked on YouTube, appear to show that Russia purchased a 51 percent stake in Uranium One to gain control of some of Kazakhstan's major uranium resources.
The acquisition also prevented Dzhakishev from pursuing uranium ambitions that would have turned Kazatomprom into a central link between Russia, the United States, France, China, and Japan. Dzhakishev envisioned China and Japan as key partners in the plan, in which the two were to acquire a 20 percent stake in Uranium One to prevent Russia from gaining a controlling interest, IntelliNews pointed out.
"There was speculation that the situation was the main reason for Dzhakishev’s imprisonment in 2009. Both leaked US diplomatic wires on WikiLeaks and videos posted on YouTube looked at how Russia may have been behind Dzhakishev’s removal from Kazatomprom and arrest."
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