Kyrgyzstan resumes uranium extraction - law

BISHKEK. July 27 (Interfax) - Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has lifted the moratorium on developing uranium deposits, the Kyrgyz leader's press service said on Thursday.

"Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has signed the law On Changes to Some Legislative Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic and Invalidation of the Law Prohibiting Operations Associated with Geological Exploration of Deposits for the Purpose of Searching, Exploration and Development Uranium and Thorium Deposits," the press service said.

Kyrgyzstan is lifting the ban on operations associated with geological exploration of subsurface resources for the purpose of searching, exploration and development of uranium and thorium deposits to achieve a balance between environmental security, the use of the country's strategic resources, and economic development, it said.

The moratorium on uranium and thorium extraction was introduced after the controversy involving the Kyzyl-Ompol deposit near Issyk-Kul Lake. In spring 2019, following reports that the company UrAsia in Kyrgyzstan received a license and begun exploration at the deposit, residents held protests demanding that the work on this group of deposits stop. The Kyrgyz parliament eventually approved a ban on uranium extraction in the country.

Five years later, in February 2024, the Kyrgyz president raised the issue of uranium extraction at a meeting with residents of some communities in the Issyk-Kul and Naryn regions. Implementing the project will bring major economic benefits to the country, he said.

According to public information, the Kyzyl-Ompol deposit contains 14.7 million tonnes of ore, of which 95% is titanomagnetite, some 3% is phosphorus, some 2% is zirconium, 0.22% is thorium, and 0.17% is uranium.