Niger withdraws the French group Orano’s operating permit for a large uranium deposit

Niger has withdrawn the operating permit for a large uranium deposit from the French company Orano, the group formerly called Areva announced on Thursday June 20. This decision comes against a backdrop of tensions between Paris and the military regime in Niamey, which has repeatedly repeated that it wishes to thoroughly review the system of exploitation of raw materials on its soil by foreign companies.

In response, the French Ministry of the Economy assured that “the country’s security of supply is not threatened, the deposit in question being absolutely not critical”. The Imouraren site, in northern Niger, is however 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 2011 had frozen Orano’s operations. Niger had given Orano until June 19 to launch “operational works” on the spot. According to the French company, the infrastructure of the deposit was “reopened since June 4, 2024 to accommodate construction teams and advance work”.