Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has signed two agreements to collaborate with Kazakhstan to investigate uranium dissolved in seawater and groundwater. The memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed with Al-Farabi National University and the Institute of High Technologies (IHT), the research arm of Kazatomprom.
The agreements will facilitate technological exchange and joint research to identify promising water resources for uranium extraction. KHNP, Al-Farabi University, and IHT will jointly investigate uranium concentrations and distribution in Kazakhstan’s seawater and groundwater. They will also conduct performance evaluations of uranium adsorbents – a technology currently being developed by KHNP.
KHNP said it is researching efficient uranium extraction from seawater and is developing adsorbents as one of the key methods for this process. If the feasibility of utilising Kazakhstan’s water resources for uranium extraction is confirmed by the research, cooperation between South Korea and Kazakhstan is expected to expand significantly. Shin Ho-cheol, director of KHNP’s Central Research Institute, said the agreements “will further strengthen technological cooperation between our two nations in the field of seawater uranium resource utilisation”.
