Niger Withdraws Uranium Exploration From French And Canadian Companies

The Nigerien government, in power for a year after a coup, has officially withdrawn uranium mining operations at two mines, which it has handed over to the French company Orano and the Canadian group GoviEx, according to a proposal approved by the Council of Ministers.

The French state-owned company had been operating the Imouraren mine since 2009, one of the largest in the world for the mineral used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. The government decided to grant its use to the "company in formation Imouraren S.A.", according to the Nigerien state agency ANP, citing a government statement.

The mine, located about 80 kilometres from the city of Arlit, in northern Niger, has estimated reserves of 200,000 tonnes of uranium.

The military junta in Niger, following the coup d'état of July 2023, turned Niamey's relations with France, a former colonial power, upside down, which had repercussions on the lives of French companies operating in the country, especially Orano, which until then had extracted around 10% of its global uranium production there.

Uranium is important for the company, but also for the French energy system, since French nuclear power plants produce around 70% of the country's electricity.

This Wednesday, the executive meeting also formalized the withdrawal of the mining license granted in 2016 to the Canadian company GoviEx for the Madaouela I mine, located in the same region, in this case because the company "refused to start mining work" despite, the note says, "the expiration of the established deadlines and the increase in uranium on the international market".

"In view of this refusal, the Ministry of Mines sent formal notifications on January 3, 2024 and then on April 3, 2024 to the company Goviex Niger Holdings Ltd, which continued to refuse to honor its commitments," the note states.