Official Letter to Deputies of Belgium Parliament Senate

TO: Senate parliamentarians

Belgium Parliament

Dear Senate parliamentarians:

We were surprised to find out from some mass media about the appeal of the Senate of Belgium Parliament to the Government with the request to deny purchasing tantalum-niobium production from Kazakhstan. Belgium Senate is of the opinion that Kazakhstan illegally receives raw materials for producing these goods, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is currently at civil war.

As far as we know, the source of this information is the final report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo (S/2002/1146) dated October 16, 2002, where NAC 'Kazatomprom' and OJSC 'UMP' along with other companies were indicated as importers of illegal tantalum-niobium raw material from DRC. Unfortunately, in the text the Panel of Experts confined to the naked assertions without a reference to any sources.

In fact, tantalum production of NAC 'Kazatomprom' is being successfully developed and of course we procure tantalum-niobium raw materials from legal sources, including Central Africa. However, we can report with confidence that NAC 'Kazatomprom' and OJSC 'UMP' never have had any business dealings with 'LA CONMET' company and the Piskunovs who are representing it. Furthermore, no deliveries of tantalum-niobium raw materials whatsoever were made from United Arab Emirates as it was stated in Expert Panel's report.

As a member of Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center, Kazatomprom is well informed about raw materials related problems, which surfaced during the last two years in the Central Africa and particularly in Democratic Republic of Congo. Therefore, we always discuss the origin issue when negotiating with raw material suppliers and concluding contracts for purchase of raw material. All raw material deliveries to NAC 'Kazatomprom' are confirmed by certificates of origin and other corresponding documents.

All the facts mentioned above were stated in our Open Letter dated November 6, 2002, and addressed to the Representative Office of the United Nations Organization in Kazakhstan. In reply to our letter we were advised that our information was sent to New-York office of the United Nations Organization in order to correct the errors that might occur. (You can find these letters on our official web-site: www.kazatomprom.com ).

At present the United Nations Organization has established the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which officially suggested its working in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 24, 2003, in accordance with a new 6-month mandate. As mentioned in the press release of March 13, 2003, distributed by the United Nations Organization, the Panel of Experts will study and analyze the collected information and, in accordance with it, will update the existing data. We are sure that, as a result, all the unjust accusations and charges directed against our company will be withdrawn.

In addition to the above, we assure and emphasize that Kazatomprom always follows and will aim to follow all rules and recommendations of UN and other international organizations. We did not and do not plan to cooperate with countries and companies involved into the 'black' list. At the same time, the naked assertions can negatively affect the image of NAC 'Kazatomprom', a respectable company in all its activities. Our successful partnership with Sinatom Company can be a reference of our work. We have been in cooperation with this company under a fifteen-years contract, according to which we have already gained a six-years experience of uranium delivery to Belgium.

We are always ready for open discussions of any matters related to NAC 'Kazatomprom' activities, especially production and delivery of tantalum-niobium products, despite the fact that we had no delivery of these products to Belgium.

Sincerely Yours,

Moukhtar Dzhakishev

President