KEPCO seals deal with Areva to develop uranium mine in Niger

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Sunday it has
signed a deal with French state-owned nuclear group Areva SA to jointly develop a
uranium mine in Niger.
The latest deal came after the South Korean state-run power company purchased a
10-percent stake in the French group's subsidiary, Areva NC Expansion, which owns
a 67-percent stake in the Imouraren mine, at an investment of 300 billion won
(US$258 million), KEPCO said.
The deal is expected to secure 700 metric tons of uranium per year for 24 years
from 2013, according to the company. KEPCO chief Kim Ssang-su said in a statement
the company plans to obtain half of its uranium needs from overseas mines of its
own by 2020.
The Imouraren mine in the landlocked West African country has the second-largest
uranium deposits in the world after a uranium mine in Australia's Olympic Dam.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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