Ekaterina Tripoten, an analyst of Sovlink Investment Company:

 — Establishment of global alliances of various configurations is a world trend

Rosatom is going to use the controlling stock interest in Uranium One, a Canadian company, as a starting point for the plan of global diversification. This was announced by Sergey Kiriyenko, the head of Russian sate corporation, in the interview granted to Financial Times. General Director of Rosatom noted that acquisition of Uranium One was not an ultimate goal of their uranium strategy development. Kiriyenko explained that they wanted to provide the growth platform as a base for further development of their progress in integration, cooperation and deals of amalgamations and mergers at other markets. The head of Rosatom gave an interview being on an official visit in Canada in order to support the deal of increasing the share of Atomredmetzoloto, a uranium holding, in Uranium One from 17% up to 51%.

Ekaterina Tripoten, an analyst of Sovlink Investment Company:

Establishment of global alliances of various configurations to which Rosatom has frequently resorted lately is not an invention of the Russian nuclear corporation, but, certainly, a world trend. As a rule, the companies which do not have the complete chain of the nuclear fuel cycle or which want to enhance one of its links participate in such alliances. Moreover, there may be alliances in some segment of the nuclear cycle between companies generally competing at the international arena.

Attempting to gain control over U1, first of all, Rosatom is looking to obtain access to uranium and uranium fields. Besides, after the deal Rosatom will receive something less material – having such a partner as the public Canadian company it will be easier for Rosatom to agree on further acquisitions or projects than through ARMZ.

Moreover, Rosatom will get the opportunity to sidestep the terms of fuel delivery to NPPs in some countries looking to diversification through obligatory increase of the supplier number (the fuel may be supplied by ARMZ and U1 as well, i.e. officially this term will be fulfilled, but both the companies are under the control of Rosatom).

Is it possible to consider the natural uranium segment as one of the perspective directions for investments in the nuclear fuel cycle? The answer to this question is controversial. On the one hand, in terms of the finitude of any fossil fuel (uranium ore) the prices for it at the world market will do nothing but rise in future. And those who will possess the fuel base will hold the competitors at the vantage at the world market. On the other hand, uranium mining is a capital-intensive work, and natural uranium sale cedes the finished fuel sales in terms of profitability.