Dalur JSC, Kurgan Region, Russia:

N. A. Poponin, Chief Executive Officer, poponin.n.a@dalur.ru
Yu. I. Laptev, Chief Geologist

Dalur is Russia’s first uranium producer using ecology-friendly method of underground leaching. Dalur is located in the Dalmatovsky district of the Kurgan Region. Dalur enterprise was registered on June 13, 2001. The company promoters were TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom and Urangeo exploration company. Since August 2008, Dalur is included in Rosatom State Energy Corporation. One of the first exploration targets was Dolmatovskoe deposit: it was investigated in 1979 by Zelenogorskaya Expedition in the framework of regular exploration of uranium content of the Transural platform formations. The pilot project was implemented from 1984 till 1994 and was suspended year hence due to lack of finance, and the test site was closed. In 2004 the license to explore Khokhlovskoe deposit was acquired. In 2008–2009 at Khokhlovskoe deposit at the Shumikha town, the new production facilities were put into operation, exploration drilling was carried out and production wells were actuated. In 2010 the underground leaching stimulation method using an oxidizer (sodium nitrate) was introduced on a commercial scale; 194 production wells and 3 exploration wells were drilled, and the positive expert opinion was obtained for the technical and economic assessment of temporal quality standards for Khokhlovksoe deposit. As of today, even in the unfavorable market environment due to the global decrease in uranium prices, Dalur yet remains an operating, competitive and economically efficient company, providing comparatively low cost of the final product (yellow cake).

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