Niger Puts Nationalised Uranium on Global Market
Niger’s military government has announced that uranium produced by Somair, a company it nationalised from French nuclear firm Orano in June, is now being offered on the international market. The move marks a new phase in the standoff between the junta, which seized power in 2023, and Orano, a group that is 90 percent owned by the French state and has mined uranium in Niger for decades. The decision was made public on state broadcaster Télé Sahel, quoting junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani. He insisted Niger had the sovereign right to manage its natural resources and to sell them “to whoever wants to buy them” under normal market rules and in full independence. Russia has already signalled interest in Niger’s uranium, with Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev saying in July that Moscow wanted to start mining operations in the country. Since […]
