Orano takes note of the decision of the Niger authorities to withdraw from its subsidiary Imouraren SA its permit to exploit the deposit, despite the resumption of activities on site in accordance with the expectations they had expressed”, said the group in a press release, relayed by the media. The Nigerien authorities have not yet communicated on this subject.
Imouraren, in northern Niger, is one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, with reserves estimated at 200,000 tonnes. Its exploitation should have started in 2015, but the fall in uranium prices on the world market, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, had frozen the operations of Orano (formerly Areva).
In a note dated June 11, the Nigerien Ministry of Mines stressed that the Imouraren operating permit would be withdrawn from Orano and handed over “in the public domain”, if “operating works” had not started in a “three month period”, after March 19. In this note, the Nigerien ministry recalled that Orano had received a first formal notice to resume work, from February 2022.
On Thursday, the French company indicated that the infrastructure of the deposit was “reopened since June 4, 2024 to accommodate construction teams and advance work”. “Several dozen people were mobilized during the relaunch phase of the project. Ultimately, Imouraren SA was expected to employ 800 people, including subcontractors.”, added Orano.
Orano, a nuclear fuel specialist, has been exploiting uranium in northern Niger since 1971. If the Akokan Mines Company (Cominak) site has been closed since 2021, Somaïr, in the Arlit region, is still active despite “difficulties” In “the logistics chain”, according to the group.
Niger supplies 4.7% of global natural uranium production, far behind Kazakhstan (45.2%), according to 2021 figures from the Euratom supply agency (ESA).
(with MAP)
 its operating permit for the country’s largest uranium deposit – Telquel.ma){kind=link}