Kazakhstan's 2011 uranium output up 9 pct at 19,450 tonnes

ALMATY: Kazakhstan boosted uranium output by about 9 percent to 19,450 tonnes in 2011, consolidating its position as the world's largest producer of the metal with a 35-percent share of global output, state nuclear firm Kazatomprom said on Friday.

Citing its preliminary data, Kazakhstan's industry and new technologies ministry said on Thursday that the Central Asian state's uranium output stood at "about 19,000 tonnes" in 2011.

Kazatomprom said that its own uranium output totalled 11,079 tonnes last year, accounting for 20 percent of the global production of the metal.