Down Blending of High Enriched Uranium at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant

The Ulba Metallurgical Plant Joint Stock Company (ULBA) is one of the world’s leading producers of uranium dioxide fuel pellets for commercial power plants as well as a major supplier of beryllium, tantalum, and niobium products. ULBA is incorporated into the National Atomic Company Kazatomprom. ULBA’s Uranium Production Division has been fabricating and handling uranium materials for over 50 years with its primary products being: natural uranium oxides; low enriched uranium dioxide powder; and fuel pellets for WWER and RBMK reactors. Kazakhstan supports nuclear nonproliferation and has signed Nuclear Nonproliferation and Peaceful Use of Nuclear Power Agreements with Russia, the United States and European Community. Under this framework, ULBA successfully implemented the project to transport, store, and down blend BN-350 reactor fuel into low enriched uranium. Today, ULBA continues its support of nuclear nonproliferation by improving its capabilities and capacity for down blending high enriched uranium in various forms to low enriched uranium. This paper will focus on ULBA’s down blending capabilities and future roles in supporting nuclear nonproliferation programs.