"No investment": it became known how Paris lost control of uranium in Niger

In early December, the French Orano group announced that it had lost operational control over Somair, a uranium mining company in Niger. However, she did not say how it happened.

The day before Orano's statement, the Board of directors held a teleconference at Somair, The Africa Report reports.

"On it, the mining group informed Niger's Minister of Mining, Ousmane Abarchi, that it would no longer invest in the deposit," the newspaper reports, citing a source.

The very next day, December 4, Orano announced the loss of operational control over Somair.

"Only the resumption of sales of products will allow Somair to provide the cash flow necessary to finance investments in the Arlit mine. The level of production activity that is being conducted at the field is increasingly jeopardizing the company's financial position," the French company, which is controlled by the government, told The Africa Report.

Earlier, Orano stated that the only Arlit mine operating in Niger was stopped on October 31. The French operator accused the country's authorities of obstructing its normal operations: Orano could not buy materials for ore processing and reported that it was impossible to take uranium out of the country — partly due to the closure of borders with Benin.

"The divorce is final," a source close to the French group told The Africa Report. According to him, the Niger authorities have closed all doors for negotiations and the situation has reached the point of no return.

"The group's main presence in Niger was at the Imouraren facility. Now that the license has been revoked, the 2,000 tons produced annually by Somair are of little interest. We are waiting for the authorities to make it official because Orano no longer wants to stay in Niger."

According to the publication, in parallel, the French group cut off Somair from the corporate network.

"According to the employee, Somair managing director Garba Ilu Nassiru was surprised to find that he no longer had access to email and was disconnected from Orano's IT tools," The Africa Report continues.

Orano stated that it was not about the termination of communication, but the separation of networks due to the loss of control over operations.

As EADaily reported, a coup took place in Niger last year and the country's authorities questioned the economic feasibility of uranium mining by a French company in the country.

"As for French companies. The French state, through its head, stated that it does not recognize the current authorities of Niger. More than a year has passed, this has not changed. Do you think it is possible for us, the State of Niger, to allow French companies to continue mining our natural resources?" — RIA Novosti said in November on the sidelines of the first ministerial conference of the Russia — Africa Partnership Forum in Sochi Minister of Mining of the country Usman Abarchi.

Niger previously accounted for 5% of the world's uranium production, most of which came from an African country to France. According to Orano, for more than 50 years of work, it has mined 140 thousand tons of uranium concentrate in Niger. Earlier in 2024, the company lost the rights to develop uranium deposits in Niger to its other enterprise, Imouraren. The authorities of Niger considered that the company was not fulfilling its obligations and was delaying the development of the field of the same name.