A new hydrometallurgical plant is being designed in Krasnokamensk that will become Russia’s largest for processing uranium and uranium-molybdenum ores. The facility will be located at the site of the Priargunsky Production Mining and Chemical Association (PPGHO), with the Argunskoye and Zherlovoye deposits serving as its resource base. The plant is meant to supply fuel for Rosatom’s growing portfolio of nuclear projects, which currently includes 45 power units under construction around the world.
The plant will have two independent stages, each with a capacity of 5,500 tonnes of triuranium octoxide per year. That is more than the existing PPGHO operation processes today and is comparable to the volumes needed to fuel new reactors. In addition to ore from Argunskoye and Zherlovoye, the facility will accept concentrates from the state corporation’s other Russian and foreign assets.
Argunskoye and Zherlovoye are the last large deposits of the Streltsovskoye ore field, which holds about 300,000 tonnes of uranium. The mineable reserves of the two sites are estimated at roughly 40,000 tonnes. Argunskoye has richer ore: the average uranium grade is about 0.19%, and a significant part of the reserves falls into the high-grade category, above 0.3%. Zherlovoye consists of ordinary and low-grade ores. Both deposits contain molybdenum as a by-product, which defines the profile of the future plant.
The project is part of the “Uranium of Russia” program. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, exploration funding in 2026 was increased almost sixfold, reflecting the growing needs of Rosatom and the global market. The new capacity is meant to replace depleting horizons and sustain the production level that supplies the reactors under construction.
The project’s digital component goes beyond standard automation. A digital twin is being developed for the plant, which will make it possible to model processes, optimize equipment loading, and forecast performance. This is especially important for processing ores of variable composition, where the stability of the process regime directly affects recovery.
In parallel, Krasnokamensk is the site of the country’s largest uranium construction project, Mine No. 6, which is due to come online in the coming years. Together with the new plant, it forms a contour that will define the look of Russia’s uranium capital for decades to come.
Krasnokamensk is experiencing a second birth: instead of maintaining old capacity, production is being built for future volumes. If the project is delivered on time, Russia will gain its largest processing complex, and Rosatom a guaranteed fuel base for its units. The only question is how quickly the plant can be brought to design capacity and how the economics of processing depleting ores can be sustained.
Source: Strana Rosatom
Image: Sergey Bulkin
