A consignment of domestically produced yellowcake weighing 30 tons was loaded at the production plant in Ardakan, Yazd Province, and delivered to the processing facility in Isfahan Province.
The operation was overseen by Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
Yellowcake is a type of uranium concentrate powder obtained in the course of the processing of uranium ores after it has been mined but before fuel fabrication or uranium enrichment.
The ores were extracted from Ardakan’s Saghand mine and was sent to Isfahan after being processed.
Uranium ore is extracted from a depth of 350 meters and is processed in Ardakan's yellowcake production plant. It is then sent to the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan where it is prepared for final enrichment at the Natanz nuclear facility.
The final product is used as fuel in nuclear power stations.
"With support from the government and Majlis [parliament], we managed to reopen the Ardakan plant at the industrial level and I congratulate Iranian engineers on this achievement," Salehi was quoted as saying by ISNA.
According to Salehi, the construction of Ardakan's plant was launched in 1993 and gradually completed over the past few years. It is the first plant in the country tasked with yellowcake production.
"At present, we are using Saghand 1 and 2 mines, but there are other mines as well that we will announce later," he said.
The AEOI chief noted that uranium is a strategic substance without which the most advanced facilities are useless.
"A considerable amount of uranium [ore] has been discovered through aerial surveys, which we will publicize at a proper time," he said.
So far, 80% of Iranian territories have undergone explorations and 350,000 excavation projects have been conducted.
"We are ready to increase the [yellowcake] stockpile to 350 tons within five to six years," Salehi said.
Ardakan plant has the capacity to grind 84,000 tons of uranium ore.
Iran curbed its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief in 2015 as per a multinational agreement with the world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Since the United States' withdrawal from the accord and its reimposition of sanctions, Iran has been relying on the European Union to preserve its benefits under the deal.
Europe has taken steps in this regard although with considerable delay in the implementation of its plans.
Iranian officials have warned that they could restore nuclear activities to pre-JCPOA level, if the EU fails to shield Tehran against US sanctions.
