The Government of Mongolia
could soon decide on establishing a joint venture with Russia to
develop a Mongolian uranium deposit, the head of the Russian civilian nuclear
power corporation, Rosatom, said on Tuesday. At a meeting with Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi,
Sergei Kiriyenko said that Russia
had signed an intergovernmental deal on the uranium joint venture early in 2009
but the project stalled due to the change of government in Mongolia.

“Already after the election,
we signed an agreement with the new government and in January signed a specific
protocol. The government of Mongolia
has made a decision on the Dornod-uranium deposit. This deposit is in the
ownership of the government of Mongolia,”
Kiriyenko said. He added that Russia
had transferred all the constituent documents on the joint venture to the
Mongolian side and the secretary of the Mongolian Security Council has
confirmed to Rosatom that a final decision on contributing the deposit to the
joint venture would be made soon.

Kiriyenko said work on the
deposit could be launched quickly as the deposit was located 300 km (186 miles)
from Russia”s neighboring Chita Region where a mining enterprise was situated
and whose specialists and equipment could be used in the uranium deposit
development.

Rosatom increased production
of uranium by 25% in 2009 and has set the task of increasing uranium output by
at least 11% in 2010, Kiriyenko said.