BUENOS AIRES – Argentina and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to boost uranium exploration and production in the South American country that could include $250-million in investment, Argentina's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The agreement was sealed during a visit by Argentine President Mauricio Macri to Moscow. It was signed by Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie, CEO of Russia's Uranium One Group, and chief of London-based UrAmerica, which explores for uranium in Argentina and Paraguay.
Argentina is seeking to boost domestic nuclear power production, which depends on uranium, in order to reduce its energy deficit. In a joint statement with Macri, Russian President Vladimir Putin said state nuclear agency Rosatom has proposed building a nuclear power station in Argentina.
Latin America's No. 3 economy already generates 5 percent of its electricity with three heavy-water nuclear reactors. The country plans to start building two new nuclear reactors in the second half of this year at a cost of $13-billion, most of it financed by Chinese organisations.
Argentina's foreign ministry said in a statement the goal of the deal was to achieve "national self-sufficiency in uranium".
Uranium One, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rosatom, is the world's fourth-largest uranium producer.