OREANDA-NEWS. September 1, 2008. Russia is ready to take part in the additional prospecting and mining of uranium in Armenia, the extension of the life of Armenian NPP and the construction of a new nuclear power plant, a source from the Kremlin.

The Russian and Armenian presidents are meeting in Sochi on Tuesday.

Energy remains the key priority of the Russian-Armenian economic cooperation, the source said. Presently, the parties are actively working to draft a mid-term agreement for the supply of Russian gas to Armenia in 2009–2011 and to create an industrial-economic complex on the basis of the existing and new parts of Razdan TPP. “Our cooperation in the nuclear sector is entering a new stage,” the source said.

In addition to its support for the safe operation of Armenian NPP, Russia is ready to take part in the additional prospecting and mining of uranium in Armenia, the extension o the life of the existing nuclear power plant and the construction of a new NPP.

As was reported earlier, the Russian-Armenian uranium prospecting and mining JV set up in Yerevan in Apr 2008 was planning to start its work in southern Armenia by the end of this year.

The agreement for the establishment of the JV was the first stage of the implementation of the memorandum for cooperation in the field of uranium prospecting and mining and the plan of action for 2008 signed by Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Ministry of Environment Protection of Armenia in Feb 2008.

In preparation for the establishment of the JV Atomredmetzoloto, VNIIHT (ARRICT, All-Russian Research Institute of Chemical Technology) and Geo-economics CJSC (Armenia) developed a plan of action for uranium prospecting in Armenia in 2008 and following years.

According to the preliminary estimates, there are 10,000 tons of uranium in Armenia.