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Niger has said it will nationalise a large uranium project it jointly owns with French nuclear fuel producer Orano, in a significant escalation of the tensions between the west African country’s military government and the state-owned company.
The plan was announced on the state broadcaster late on Thursday, after ministers adopted a draft resolution transferring complete ownership of the Somair project to the government in Niamey. Orano owns just over 63 per cent of Somair and Niger’s state-run Sopamin holds the rest.
The nationalisation of Orano’s project is part of a broader wave of asset seizures in the Sahel, the semi-arid strip south of the Sahara where military-run governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are taking on international mining companies.
The regime in Niger, which seized power in a July 2023 coup after deposing pro-French President Mohamed Bazoum, has accused Orano of a number of infractions, including not transferring enough money to the state over decades and a “poisoning campaign” against the Niger government and its partners.
“Faced with this irresponsible, illegal and disloyal behaviour by Orano, a company owned by the French state, a state openly hostile to Niger since July 26 2023 and supporting terrorism in the Sahel, the state of Niger has decided in all sovereignty to nationalise Somair,” the statement read. It added that former shareholders would receive compensation “taking into account all their legal obligations”.
Orano said late on Friday: “This expropriation move is yet a further step in the military authorities’ ongoing strategy to expel Orano from Niger.” It added that the move was a “clear violation” of agreements between the group and Niger, and part of “a broader effort to spread misinformation and undermine Orano’s reputation”.
Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have adopted more assertive stances with the mining companies operating within their borders, enacting laws demanding a greater share of proceeds and bigger stakes in joint ventures. A court in Mali this week appointed administrators to reopen a large gold mine in the country against the wishes of its owner Barrick Mining.
Niger, a former French colony, has alleged that President Emmanuel Macron’s government seeks to overthrow the military regime and has since turned towards Russia alongside the military-led governments of Burkina Faso and Mali in a broader geopolitical realignment in the region.
France has yet to recognise the new Niger government. Niger’s mining minister Colonel Abarchi Ousmane said last year that it was not “possible” for the country to allow “French companies to continue extracting our natural resources” because of Paris’s posture towards the junta.
The Financial Times reported last month that Orano was exploring the sale of its three uranium assets in Niger, including Somair, with Russian and Chinese companies said to be interested.
The company said in December it had lost operational control of its three Niger subsidiaries, all of which are owned in conjunction with the state. But the nationalisation of Somair, which operates multiple fields in the north-central Agadez region, will be the first time the state has seized full control of an Orano asset.
Orano, which is 90 per cent owned by the French government, has launched several international arbitration cases against Niger and began fresh legal proceedings against the government in May following the raid of its offices that led to the arrest of a local company director.
Additional reporting by Ian Johnston in Paris
