Press Release re the Opening of High-Capacity Condensing Tantalum Powders Production

December 11, 2008 has brought to the Ulba Metallurgical Plant, in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, the opening of a new section for the production of high-capacity condensation tantalum powders.

Joining JSC UMP staff for the opening ceremony were Mr. Nurlan Iskakov, the Minister for Environment of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Moukhtar Dzhakishev, the President of Kazatomprom, Mr. Adylgazy Bergenev, the Mayor of the Eastern-Kazakhstan region, Mr. Nurlan Mussin, the General Director of JSC UMP and also interested members of the public.

High-capacity condensing tantalum powders production is one of the main breakthrough projects of Kazatomprom and is being implemented at the site of the Ulba Metallurgical plant, within the framework of the“30 corporate leaders” State Program.

“Clever” metal helps clever machines to work

High-capacity tantalum powders are a product with nanostructure, with special processing methods, allowing for the making of up to 4.5 square meters of surface from the ultimate particles in 1 gram of the material. There is, therefore, a high capacity in the mass unit and this method is the basis for the technological cycle of high-capacity tantalum condensing powders production which thus allows for the keeping, for a long time, of the electric charge in the work of the condenser in the electric chain. It is possible, for example, to create a condenser that will store the same electric charge as a conditioned, conventional sphere with a diameter similar to that of the Earth from just 0.5 grams of high-capacity tantalum powder with nanostructure.

Owing to their characteristics, high-capacity powders make it possible to produce subminiature condensers that meet the requirements of modern electronics and require less usage of costly metals such as tantalum.  Less than 0.6 mg. of powder is needed to produce a condenser for printed wiring.

Electrolyte tantalum condensers are stable in work; they are safe and have a long service life -reaching up to 12 years or more. Miniature tantalum condensers are used for the production of components for mobile telephones, computers, audio and video equipment, the automobile industry and the military-industrial complex.

Alongside its unique characteristics (such as high-temperature strength, plasticity and high corrosion stability) tantalum is actively used in metallurgy and the metal working industry, in chemical mechanic engineering, for professional equipment (X-ray equipment), in medicine (as material a for restorative surgery and prosthetics as it is the most suitable material for the human body – it is non-rejectable) and in the nuclear power industry (as a heat-exchanging unit for nuclear power systems). The condensers can also repair themselves: if a spark from the high tension destroyed an isolation, for example, an insulating oxide film would immediately be formed at the breakdown spot and the condenser would keep working as if nothing had happened at all. Stage-by-stage startup of high-capacity condensation tantalum powders production at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant will allow for an annual production of 72.9 tons of tantalum powders, of different classes, by the time the project is up and running at full capacity

This is the first project, in the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the field of condenser construction and is one of the main conditions for the development of a high-technology innovative industry.

By implementing the project, on high-capacity tantalum powder, JSC UMP will meet the following tasks:

• Development and implementation of new innovative technologies that are the basis for the development of nanotechnologies;
• Production of a product with a high value added and a high level of cost-effectiveness;
• Creation of up to 145 new work places.

As was stressed during the opening ceremony, the establishment of the plant for the production of high-capacity condensing tantalum powders is an important step toward the formation of the electronics industry in Kazakhstan. The project’s implementation will allow JSC UMP to take a leading position (with a market share of 5-7%) in supplying the world’s largest companies engaged in the condenser construction industry. Today the production of high-capacity tantalum powders has been mastered in just four other countries: the USA, Germany, Japan and China.

The total estimated cost of the project is close to 5.5 billion tenge with the source of the financing being Kazatomprom’s own funds.

The new production will be based at its own developments and will use the latest automated equipment.

Notes:

Kazatomprom is the national operator of the Republic of Kazakhstan for export of uranium and its compounds, rare metals, nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants, special equipment, technologies and double-use materials. The main activities of the company are: geological exploration, uranium production, manufacture of nuclear fuel cycle products, reactor construction, nuclear power plants, non-ferrous metallurgy and production of construction materials, the electric energy sector, science, social welfare and staff training. Today the company has more than 25,000 employees. Kazatomprom is among the leading uranium production companies in the world.

JSC Ulba Metallurgical Plant is one of the recognized world leaders in the production of fuel pellets, from uranium dioxide, for NPPs and products containing beryllium, tantalum and niobium. The enterprise is a part of the National atomic company Kazatomprom. In 2009 JSC UMP will celebrate its 60-year anniversary.