Kazatomprom Shareholders Leave Russian Uranium Contract Unresolved, Vote Again in December
Key Facts
Kazatomprom shareholders left a proposal to supply natural uranium to Rosatom subsidiary Uranium One unresolved after it failed to win a majority in the first vote, according to results of the extraordinary meeting published by the company. The results show that shareholders or their representatives holding 227,377,117 shares took part in the vote, equivalent to 99.21% of the 229,197,526 shares carrying voting rights. Rather than treating the result as an outright rejection of the deal, the company described it as a failure to adopt a resolution, as holders of the largest block of voting shares abstained. Kazatomprom plans to put the matter to a new absentee vote. The proposal concerns a contract to supply natural uranium in the form of uranium oxide U3O8 to Uranium One Group, a subsidiary of Russia's state-owned Rosatom.
Kazatomprom said the proposal was being reconsidered after technical amendments were made to the contract. In its meeting notice, it said the amendments "do not affect the material terms of the transaction" and that "the commercial and other terms of the transaction remain unchanged." The agreement will therefore be put to another vote following a technical amendment, while its commercial terms remain as before, the company said. At the same extraordinary meeting, shareholders approved a spot sale and purchase contract for natural concentrates with China's SNURDC. The SNURDC contract received 88.63% support, with 6.49% opposed and 4.88% abstaining, showing a split in the voting outcomes for the two contracts.
Uranium One Group is also a partner with Kazatomprom in Kazakhstan's Budenovskoye uranium project, according to Kursiv Media. The publication reported that the Russian company recently disposed of some of its Kazakh assets in favor of Chinese investors. This places the proposed supply contract within a broader relationship between the two companies in Kazakhstan's uranium sector, including a partnership in a production project. But Kazatomprom said the renewed vote is linked to technical amendments to the contract, reiterating that its commercial terms have not changed. The available information did not include details on the supply volumes or value.
The period for submitting absentee ballots begins on November 25, 2026, and voting closes on December 9 at 18:00 local time, according to the company's notice. The votes are scheduled to be counted on December 10, 2026. The meeting requires participation by shareholders holding more than 50% of the company's shares to be valid, according to Kursiv Media. The vote will determine whether the proposal is approved after shareholders failed to resolve it at the previous meeting. Kazatomprom is the world's largest producer of natural uranium, and its attributable production accounted for 20% of global primary supply in 2025.
Kazatomprom expects production of between 27,500 and 29,000 tonnes of uranium in 2026 on a 100% basis, with its guidance linked to the availability of sulfuric acid. The company previously cut its 2026 nominal production forecast from 32,777 to 29,697 tonnes, a reduction of about 3,000 tonnes, or nearly 10%. The adjustment provides important operational context for shareholders preparing to vote on the supply contract. The company did not specify in the information provided a later date for announcing developments on the contract beyond the release of the vote count on December 10.