FACTBOX-Key uranium joint ventures in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, May 27 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's security service said on Wednesday some of the country's uranium fields had been sold illegally to foreign firms by Kazakh state uranium company Kazatomprom, in a move certain to alarm investors. [ID:nLR384428]

Below is the list of key Kazakh uranium joint ventures in which foreign companies have stakes.

KYZYLKUM

Kyzylkum operates Khorasan-1, Kazakhstan's largest uranium mine with reserves of more than 80,000 tonnes. Canada's Uranium One (UUU.TO) owns 30 percent in its operating company Kyzylkum.

A consortium of Japanese firms including Toshiba Corporation (6502.T), TEPCO (9501.T), Chubu Electric (9502.T), Tohoku Electric (9506.T), Kyushu Electric (9508.T) and Marubeni Corporation (8002.T) owns a 40 percent stake.

The rest belongs to Kazatomprom.

BAIKEN-U

The venture operates Khorasan-2, a deposit estimated to yield 2,000 tonnes of uranium annually for 40 years.

The same Japanese consortium owns an undisclosed stake in the company.

BETPAK DALA

The venture, in which Uranium One owns 70 percent, operates two deposits, Akdala and South Inkai. Uranium One estimates its share of proven and probable reserves in Akdala at 6,700 tonnes. Its share of inferred reserves in South Inkai is 16,720 tonnes.

APPAK