A contract to prolong the lifespan of the nation’s lone uranium mine was signed on Thursday by the government of Niger and the French nuclear company Orano.
According to mining minister Hadiza Ousseini, the “overall partnership agreement” means the Somair mine in northern Niger might continue operating until 2040, 11 years after its current anticipated closure date.
Particularly, she added, discussions centred on licencing agreements and cost savings.
The state-owned Areva, which started mining uranium in the former French colony around 50 years ago and extracted the raw material primarily for France’s nuclear sector, has been replaced by Orano.
Cominak, one of the company’s mines, was shut down in 2021 (for the Akokan Mining Company).
According to Nicolas Maes, the company’s CEO, the transaction including Somair, whose name is taken from the Air Mining Company, includes a commitment by Orano to invest 26 billion CFA francs ($44 million) into education and other “priority” sectors in Niger.
However, the two parties decided to delay the start of mining at the northern Imouraren site, which has among the largest uranium deposits in the world and estimated deposits of 200,000 tonnes.
Operations there were supposed to begin in 2015 but were delayed after the Fukushima tragedy in Japan in 2011 caused the price of uranium to crash globally.
According to Ousseini, the partners were estimating “a horizon of 10 years” when deciding whether or not to begin mining at the location.
