Niger to Sell Uranium in International Market
The head of the military government in Niger, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has announced that it intends to put uranium produced by the SOMAÏR mine on the international market.
Uranium mining in Niger is at the centre of a standoff between the junta that took power in 2023 and nuclear producer Orano, 90-percent owned by the French government and has operated mines in Niger for decades.
Tchiani told state television Tele Sahel that “Niger’s legitimate right to dispose of its natural riches to sell them to whoever wants to buy them, under the rules of the market, in complete independence.”
Since the junta took power in a 2023 coup, Niger has turned to Russia, which commands the world’s largest arsenal of atomic weapons, for help in fighting the West African country’s jihadist insurgency.
At the same time it has turned its back on former colonial power France, which it accused of supporting separatist groups. In December 2024, Orano acknowledged it had lost operational control of its three main mines in Niger: Somaïr, Cominak (closed since 2021) and Imouraren.
Orano condemned the latest uranium transfer as illegal, noting that it constitutes a direct breach of a September 2025 ruling by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The tribunal had ordered Niger “not to sell, transfer, or even facilitate the transfer to third parties of uranium produced by SOMAÏR” held in violation of Orano’s rights.
The French company said it learned of the shipment only through media reports and has “no official information on the quantity removed, the shipment’s destination, or the conditions of its transport.”
“This shipment is in breach of the decision handed down in favor of Orano,” the company said, warning that it reserves the right to take “any additional action necessary, including criminal proceedings against third parties, should the material be taken in violation of its offtake entitlement.”
Imouraren has one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, with an estimated 200,000 tonnes. Orano officially retains a 60 percent stake in the subsidiaries and has undertaken various arbitration procedures against Niger to try to win back operational control.
Niger embraces Russia for uranium production, leaving France out in the cold. In late September, Orano announced a tribunal had ruled in its favour concerning the nationalisation of Somaïr in June.
Niger in 2022 accounted for about a quarter of the natural uranium supplied to European nuclear power plants, according to data from the atomic organisation Euratom.
