Washington (CNN) -- A Russian company is seeking to buy a controlling interest in one of the largest uranium extraction operations in the United States -- a sale that requires U.S. government review because of possible national security implications.
Uranium One USA, now a subsidiary of a Canadian company, operates a uranium processing facility in Wyoming and has assets in Utah, Texas and Colorado. The sale of the company's existing and pending operations could give Russia control of about 20 percent of U.S. uranium extraction capacity, Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials estimate.
Industry observers tell CNN they do not believe the sale of Uranium One to Joint Stock Company Atomredmetzoloto, or ARMZ, would jeopardize U.S. security, saying that the United States relies on Russian dismantled nuclear weapons for much of the uranium used in nuclear reactors today, and that sources of uranium are plentiful.
CNN
