Russia and Armenia will establish a joint-venture for the prospecting for, production and recycling of uranium in Armenia. Armenia will also join the International Uranium Enrichment Centre project in Angarsk.
An agreement was signed after talks between Russia's Prime Minister, Victor Zubkov, and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarkisyan. Head of Rosatom state corporation Sergey Kirienko said the new joint-venture will operate on a parity basis and Rosatom will gain access to archives of uranium stockpiles in Armenia. «50 per cent of the venture will belong to the Armenian government and 50 per cent to Rosatom. Russia plans to invest $US 3 million to start exploration work this year as soon as the snow is gone. We will form four geological exploration teams and they will start exploration and drilling, so that we can start production as soon as possible,» he added.