Kazakhstan, where violent protests against the government have been raging, has some of the largest oil fields on earth and more than 40% of the world's uranium production
A file photo of a container of uranium oxide at the Khorasan-1 uranium mine in southern Kazakhstan.
Image: Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
Kazakhstan, where violent protests against the government have been raging, has some of the largest oil fields on earth and more than 40% of the world’s uranium production.
So far the unrest does not seem to have cut into production of either oil or uranium, but it has the potential to ripple through critical energy markets.
Uranium prices, which have risen in recent months on hopes of a revival of the nuclear industry to combat climate change, rose 8% Wednesday amid reports of clashes in the Central Asian country. Some 22% of the uranium purchased by nuclear plants in the United States in 2020 came from Kazakhstan, according to U.S. government statistics.
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