The French uranium specialist Orano affirmed on Wednesday that the Nigerien authorities had “taken operational control” of its mining subsidiary in Niger, a new episode of a standoff with the junta in power in this Sahelian country.
The board of directors of Somaïr, the Société des mines de l’Aïr, is 64.3% owned by Orano and 36.6% by the State of Niger. But the military regime that came to power through a putsch in July 2023 has made sovereignty its priority, in particular on the question of its uranium.
In June, he first withdrew from Orano (formerly Areva) the operating permit for the Imouraren mega deposit and its reserves estimated at 200,000 tonnes.
Orano has been warning about interference for months
Then at the end of October, the French company announced that faced with a “severely degraded” situation, its subsidiary was going to “suspend” its production from October 31, due to being unable to “continue working” in the country.
“For several months, Orano has been warning about the interference that the group is experiencing in the governance of Somaïr, of which it is the majority shareholder and operator in Niger,” points out the French group in its press release on Wednesday.
“In fact, the decisions taken during the company’s board meetings are no longer applied and, in fact, Orano notes today that the Nigerien authorities have taken operational control,” he continues.
On November 12, the Somaïr board of directors approved the suspension of expenses linked to extraction activities. But a few days later, a delegation of regime advisors visited the Somaïr mines, in northern Niger, to congratulate and encourage the agents in the continuation of exploitation.
300 million euros blocked
In total, 1,050 tonnes of uranium concentrate from 2023 and 2024 stocks, or almost half of the site’s average annual production, are currently blocked, with an estimated market value of “300 million euros”. according to the group whose capital is 90% owned by the French State.
This episode illustrates the tensions between Niger and the former French colonial power to which the military regime has turned its back since coming to power.
Niger: 4.7% of world uranium production
Uranium could, however, interest other countries: in November, Niger’s Minister of Mines, Ousmane Abarchi, invited Russian companies to come explore and exploit the country’s natural resources.
Niger supplies 4.7% of global natural uranium production, far behind Kazakhstan (45.2%), according to 2021 figures from the Euratom supply agency (ESA).
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