The IAEA Low Enriched Uranium Storage Facility - or 'bank' - is scheduled to be ready for operations by September 2017, following the conclusion of a partnership agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Kazakhstan this week.

Cameco and KazAtomProm have agreed to restructure the Inkai jont venture, extending their cooperation in the Kazakh in-situ leach (ISL) uranium project until 2045. The agreement will see Kazatomprom increase its share of the joint venture to 60% with Cameco becoming a minority owner.

China General Nuclear announced it has signed an agreement with Canadian uranium mining company Cameco to further expand and deepen their cooperation in the joint development of uranium resources.

Following a strategic review of its business, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) has said it will prioritize the rehabilitation of the Ranger project area and the processing of stockpiled ore while keeping open the option of future development of Ranger 3 Deeps.

An organization representing US uranium producers has called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to cease transfers of excess uranium from federal inventory until the uranium market recovers from its current oversupplied state.

The Kazakhstan-United States Energy Partnership Commission yesterday signed a joint statement at a meeting in Kazakhstan that was co-chaired by Kazakh energy minister K A Bosumbayev and US energy secretary Ernest Moniz.

Denison Mines Corp is to begin a pre-feasibility study at the Wheeler River project in Canada's Athabasca Basin after a newly published preliminary economic assessment (PEA) found "robust" economics for a proposed underground mining operation based on current uranium prices.

KazAtomProm and ConverDyn have signed an agreement whereby the world's largest uranium producer and the "leading provider" of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) conversion services will jointly and immediately offer uranium in the form of natural UF6 to global utilities. UF6 is the natural uranium feedstock for the enrichment step in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, yesterday signed an agreement with Ukrainian energy and coal industry minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn that clears the way for Australia to export uranium to Ukraine.

GoviEx Uranium Inc and Denison Mines Corp have announced the execution of a definitive share purchase agreement to combine their respective African uranium mineral interests and create "the leading Africa-focused uranium development company".

Denison Mines will focus on its activities in Canada's Athabasca Basin in 2016, according to the company's end-of-year analysis. The company sold its Mongolian assets in December and hopes to spin out or sell its African portfolio when market conditions permit.

The Mongolian government has agreed to pay Khan Resources $70 million to end a dispute over its 2009 cancellation of the Canadian mining company's uranium licences. Mongolia had been seeking to overturn a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal that it must pay $100 million in compensation.