(Bloomberg] – Kazatomprom, the Kazakhstan state nuclear company, plans a 100-fold increase in sales of uranium pellets to China within three years as the East Asian country almost triples the number of nuclear power plants it operates.

Kazatomprom expects shipments to the world’s largest energy consumer to grow to 200 metric tons of uranium pellets in 2013 or 2014 from the 2 tons planned this year, Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Shkolnik said in an interview in Almaty today.

Founded in 1997, Kazatomprom is a state-owned nuclear holding company in Kazakhstan, which operates in the field of Uranium and nuclear fuel cycle services, production of Beryllium, Tantalum and Niobium, and power production. In 2006 Kazakhstan produced 5,279 tonnes of uranium, of which 3,010 tonnes were produced by Kazatomprom. Kazatomprom also represents Kazakhstan in the joint ventures with Russian Tekhsnabexport, French AREVA and Canadian Cameco. Kazatomprom has set a goal of producing 15,000 metric tons by 2010.

Kazakhstan has won a new agreement to export uranium to South Korea until 2017 and has negotiated a contract that factors in spot prices, Shkolnik said, without elaborating. The company is in talks with Korea Electric Power Corp. about a uranium mining venture in Kazakhstan, he said. There are no similar talks with India, he said.

Kazatomprom processes their materials at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk. Kazatomprom owns 90% of JSC Ulba Metallurgical Plant which is the largest metallurgic processing facility in Kazakhstan. It is the largest processor of Uranium products, second largest processor of Beryllium products and third largest processor of Tantalum and Niobium products.

In August 2007, Kazatomprom agreed to purchase 10% of Westinghouse Electric Company from Toshiba for US$540 million. The deal was finalized in October 2007.