Tag: Niger Uranium

Niger Takes Control of its Uranium

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments2 Comments
Map of Niger

Last week, Orano, the French nuclear company which until now controlled the mining of uranium in Niger, has announced that the Niger government had taken control of its Somair uranium mining. Orano owns about 63 % of the mine. Orano claims that the government had been stopping them from resuming exports and operation, when we know that the degradation (Niger and Orano: Disagreement) is in part because they were trying to force the government to go through Benin whose border has remained closed, previously due to ECOWAS blockage (fueled by France), and now given that it hosts French military bases. The media tell us that Niger is not that important and Orano, France, and the EU have been able to find alternative suppliers in Canada, Uzbekistan, Australia, Namibia, and others… if that is the case, then why do they persist in Niger? Why not leave Niger alone? Is it because the uranium from Niger was dirt cheap, and now paying from it at regular prices from those other sources hurts the pocket book? The BBC admits that “the timing could hardly be more awkward, as Western countries struggle to meet the challenge of climate change and cut their carbon emissions from electricity generation.” Overall, the West is unhappy that Niger is now seeking other partners such as Russia, China, and others. 

Flag of Niger

The Western mainstream media, in a case of absolute double standard keeps calling the government of Niger, “military junta“, while calling the Syria terrorists “liberators.” These same media are all up in arms in the case of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Today, the BBC received a 3-month ban in Niger, while the Nigerien government is filing suits against RFI for spreading fake news that could destabilize the social peace and inciting war propaganda against the local government.

Excerpts below are from the BBC. For the full article, check out How a uranium mine became a pawn in the row between Niger and France. Enjoy!

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In the latest sign of a dramatic deterioration in relations, Niger’s military rulers appear increasingly determined to drive France out of any significant sector in their economy – and particularly uranium mining. This week the French state nuclear company Orano announced that the junta … had taken operational control of its local mining firm, Somaïr. …

… the crisis facing Orano in Niger represents a significant practical challenge for French energy supply. With 18 nuclear plants, totalling 56 reactors, which generate almost 65% of its electricity, France has been ahead of the game in containing carbon emissions from the power sector. … So, over the past decade or so, [France] has imported almost 90,000 tonnes – a fifth of which has come from Niger. … Last year, as West African neighbours responded to the coup in Niger by imposing a trade blockade that paralysed uranium exports, other suppliers readily stepped into the breach. The European Union’s imports of the mineral from the country plunged by a third, but these were largely replaced by Canada.

… After last year’s coup, Orano itself tried to stay out of the diplomatic row, keep a low profile and carry on operating normally. But the Ecowas trade blockade prevented it from exporting the output from the Somaïr mine, near Arlit, in the Sahara Desert. And even after the sanctions were lifted in late February, the usual uranium export route, via Benin’s port of Cotonou, remained blocked, because the junta kept the border closed in an ongoing political row with Benin….  In June the junta cancelled the French company’s rights to develop a new mine at the large Imouraren deposit, which had been seen as the uranium sector’s principal new hope for future growth. Meanwhile, the export blockage was pushing Somaïr, which by November was sitting on 1,150 tonnes of blockaded stocks of uranium concentrate worth $210m (£165m), into financial crisis.

… Niger’s junta feels no need to make concessions to Orano because it is now buoyed by a sharp rise in oil exports, thanks to a new Chinese-built pipeline. With that financial cushion, the regime appears prepared to bear the cost of paralysing and probably dismantling the traditional uranium partnership with France – now its main international opponent.

Niger and Orano: Disagreement

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment

Flag of Niger

Orano has been suspended by the Niger government. However, Orano states that they have suspended the Niger government. What is the truth?

France is the biggest electricity seller in the world, and this because of Niger who contributes up to 15% (probably more – they don’t want to tell us). Niger is the third uranium provider of the European Union. At one point, France was paying Niger 0.80 Euro/kg of uranium, while paying Canada 200 Euro/kg for the exact same quality; and this has been going on for decades! Is this not pillaging a country?

Map of Niger

Orano, previously known as Areva, has been in Niger for over 70 years. Yet in 70 years, they have not built a single school, roads, or even hospital for the locals (Mali and Niger end Long-Standing Tax Treaties with France). These French companies have similar behaviors in all of their previous colonies, in Cameroon for example, Safacam has been there 130 years, but the road there is impracticable – they can grab everything, without even giving simple things like roads to the locals! Moreover, many do not pay taxes in the local countries, but back to their home countries. Such contempt! How are the locals supposed to develop themselves? And then if one adds the FCFA scheme (The 11 Components of the French Colonial Tax in Africa) and it is game over!

Well, good riddance to bad rubbish… goodbye to Orano. The French thought that by having the Benin-Niger border closed via ECOWAS sanctions, that Niger, a landlocked country, will suffocate. When Benin realized that their sanction was affecting their own economy via the Benin port, given that Niger’s exports were no longer going through Benin, they back-pedaled trying to bring Niger in. However, it has been proven via intelligence, that there are French military bases in Benin and so Niger has refused to reopen their border with Benin. They have reopened all other borders with neighboring countries but Benin. Recall that Benin also tried to stop Niger oil going through the Niger-Benin Oil pipeline (at 1950 km, it is the longest oil pipeline in Africa) on Benin territory, until the Chinese government gave Talon a small tap on the back questioning his poor judgement to stop crude oil, forcing Talon to reopen the tap for oil.

To learn more, please check out RFI, and VOA. Excerpts below are from the VOA.

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NIAMEY, NIGER — Niger’s military junta is disputing a decision by French nuclear fuel firm Orano to halt uranium production, according to a document from a state partner in the venture seen Friday by Agence France-Presse.

Orano announced last month that it was stopping production as of Thursday, owing to what it termed increasingly difficult operating conditions in the country and financial issues.

… The French lamented the withdrawal by the junta in June of a permit for one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, Imouraren, and the impossibility of exporting the raw material with Niger’s border with Benin closed for what Niamey says are security reasons.

“Despite its status as a co-shareholder, Sopamin was not consulted on this serious decision” to halt production, the company, which has operated for half a century in the country’s north, said in a document dated Thursday.

The Nigerien firm complained that the decision “lacks transparency” and “violates a number of principles and practices essential to governance and commitments between stakeholders.”

… The ruling [government], which took power last year in a July coup, says it will revamp rules regulating the mining of raw materials by foreign companies in what is the world’s seventh-largest uranium producer.

… In September, Niger’s Council of Ministers adopted a draft decree creating a state entity, “Timersoi National Uranium Company,” abbreviated to TNUC