Sustainable development

Environmental protection is a top priority in our business and we strive to maintain a minimal environmental footprint. To this end, we implement a number of measures and work consistently to minimise any negative impact on the environment, and continuously increase the level of environmental safety and sustainable development of our companies.

The Board of Directors of the Company includes the Production Safety (HSE) Committee. The Board of Directors takes the necessary measures to improve and increase the efficiency of the environmental policy. The Chairman of Kazatomprom's Management Board approves the environmental protection policy and monitors the implementation of its requirements.

The Green Mindset Project was initiated in 2020 by the Operations Department, the initiative seeking to support the global green trend. The project covers the following areas: green energy, energy efficiency of production processes, reduction of emissions to the environment (emissions, discharges, waste), recycling of materials and equipment (Reuse), and measures aimed at "greening the consciousness" of Kazatomprom employees.

The Company has been implementing the roadmap for the implementation of the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP Roadmap) since 2018. The ESAP Roadmap helps bring the Group's health, environmental and social management systems in line with the international environmental requirements and best practices (GIIP: Good International Industry Practice, International Finance Corporation's Environmental and Social Sustainability Standard).

All production facilities of the Company have environmental management systems and energy management systems in place that are ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certified.

Kazatomprom's integrated HSE management system complies with the requirements of DIN EN ISO 14001:2015 and DIN EN ISO 45001:2018. In March 2020, Kazatomprom successfully passed an occupational health and safety management audit and received the certificate of TÜV International Certification. The audit was carried out by experts of Intercertifica-TÜV LLP (Germany) together with TÜV Thüringen in Kazakhstan.

The Occupational H&S Unit of Kazatomprom’s Corporate Centre is responsible for the overall management of environmental protection activities. The Occupational H&S Unit organises the environmental protection activities of the Group, analyses their effectiveness, and prepares reports for the Company’s management. Subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures have special units in place that are responsible for the implementation of environmental policy, and the compliance of all production processes with environmental requirements of the laws and internal corporate procedures.

The main goal of environmental monitoring is to minimize the impact of production activities on the environment and on the population living in the places where Kazatomprom's production activities are carried out.

Reducing air emissions is an important aspect of Kazatomprom's environmental efforts. The Company seeks to reduce the adverse impacts of its production on air quality, constantly introducing technological improvements.

Kazatomprom’s entities use gas treatment systems, apply energy-conservation technologies, and use photovoltaic stations to reduce atmospheric pollutant emissions. Dust and gas traps are an example of effective solutions being deployed at the Company entities. An installation with a pulse ceramic filter (FKI-45) is successfully operating in refining shops at Kazatomprom-SaUran LLP. The system is designed for dust cleaning and the treatment of process gases emanating from calcining furnaces of RHTF7. This installation eliminates emissions of radiation dust into the atmosphere and reduces emissions into the environment by 20%.

The Company’s entities proactively use solar power to generate electricity, thus reducing atmospheric emissions of pollutants from the consumption of traditional fuels, such as fuel oil and coal.

Water is a material component in the production process, both in the main production activities and in the operation of osmosis plants that make demineralised water into a raw material for generating electricity for the external grid to meet the needs of local communities. In some regions of operations, Kazatomprom also provides water to local communities and other industries.

The Company supports the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, including SDG 6 – "Ensure access to water and sanitation for all", and operates in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Company's water withdrawal has no significant impact on water sources. Kazatomprom does not withdraw water from sources recognized as vulnerable, state-protected, or highly valuable for local communities or biodiversity.

Kazatomprom endeavours to reduce the volume of water it uses in production. To this end, a number of enterprises use closed water cycles. The Company's entities produce industrial, storm and domestic waste water as a result of water use. Mine wastewater discharges are treated and discharged to a storage pond.

Uranium mining using the ISR method poses a risk of groundwater contamination. To minimise this environmental risk at all operating mines, Kazatomprom encloses the mining area with a buffer zone of 500 metres in radius. The entities constantly monitor the condition of groundwater within, above, and below the mining horizons, in accordance with all requirements established by law.

Waste management is one of the most important environmental considerations for Kazatomprom. For qualitative control of this process, the Company developed a waste management system, constantly improving the accounting of waste generation and movement, and building capacity to increase waste reuse.

The temporary storage of production and consumption waste at the sites of subsidiaries and affiliates is carried out in specifically designated and equipped locations. Hazardous production waste is transferred to specialised enterprises for storage, recycling, and disposal. Passports have been developed for the entire list of hazardous waste; a passport provides basic information about the waste: name, list of hazardous properties, composition, toxicity, and waste management precautions.

One of Kazatomprom's main environmental objectives is to protect biodiversity and ensure the rational use of natural resources in the areas of its operations. After completion of mining at the deposits, the Company is fully responsible for the implementation of a set of measures to eliminate the consequences of uranium mining. There are no nature reserves or other specially protected natural sites on the territory of Kazatomprom's uranium deposits. At the same time, the Company makes efforts to study the state of flora and fauna in the territory of uranium deposits to preserve the existing biodiversity.

Since 2019, as part of the ESAP Roadmap implementation, Kazatomprom has been actively working to determine the level of impact of mining operations on habitats, vegetation, and protected animal species.

Natural ecosystems and forests are crucial for a healthy environment and productive supply chains. They represent the main source of biodiversity, play a significant role in conserving critical habitats, supporting livelihoods, and provide an important carbon sink.

Though uranium mining is often associated with certain landscape alterations that may occasionally lead to vegetation removal, Kazatomprom primarily operates in non-forest or less forested areas and its direct impact on forests is limited. Thus, Kazatomprom operates 26 mine deposits prevailing majority of which are located in the South Kazakhstan region - the areas of predominantly semi desert steppe. Only 8 out of 26 deposits are located in the areas, which are deemed a forestry area due to sporadic presence of saxaul. Kazatomprom operations are run in a strict compliance with the Forestry Code and Ecological Code of Kazakhstan, which do allow for operations in the forestry areas provided the required volume of compensatory planting is employed in a timely manner. Thus, in November 2020, NAC Kazatomprom JSC and Zhasyl Aimak municipal public institution signed an Agreement for compensatory planting and maintenance for a total amount of KZT 1,3 billion. The total planned area of planting is 7241 ha, including 1158 ha of deciduous trees, 2316 ha of saxaul seedlings and 3766 ha of saxaul seeds.

In May 2021, Karatau LLP and Zhasyl Aimak MPI signed contracts for compensatory planting for a total amount of over KZT 2 billion. The total planned area of planting for Karatau LLP is 2654 ha, including 424 ha of deciduous trees, 850 ha of saxaul seedlings and 1380 ha of saxaul seeds. We also plan to conclude a similar contract on compensatory planting between JV KATCO LLP and Zhasyl Aimak MPI for a total planting area of 11830 ha, including 1906 ha - deciduous trees, 3813 ha - saxaul seedlings and 6111 ha - saxaul seeds.

Kazatomprom recognizes the continuing global challenge associated with deforestation and will aim to minimize deforestation arising from its activities.

In 2019, we began to decommission the Uvanas mine (the Stepnoye-RU branch of Kazatomprom-SaUran LLP), which was the first in-situ recovery uranium deposit in Kazakhstan to be fully depleted; all respective state contractual obligations were met in this regard. Following the termination of uranium mining operations, Kazatomprom-SaUran LLP began remediation processes, including rehabilitation and restoration of the mining site in accordance with legal requirements of the Republic of Kazakhstan.