DUSHANBE , July 23, 2008, Asia-Plus - Kazakhstan , the world''s third- biggest uranium miner, plans to overtake Canada and Australia next year by producing 12,826 metric tons of the radioactive metal.

The country is aiming to become the world''s biggest producer of uranium, said Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the president of state- run Kazatomprom, on July 22. The company plans to produce more than 9,000 tons of uranium this year, he said.

Kazakhstan is seeking to use its uranium reserves, which account for 15 percent of the world''s total, to participate in all stages of the production cycle, from mining to power generation. Kazatomprom paid about US $4.16 billion in October to purchase a 10 percent stake in Westinghouse Electric Co. from Toshiba Corp, reported Bloomberg.