Uranium: Russia’s Rosatom Eyes France’s Orano’s Assets in Niger

(Ecofin Agency) – Orano (formerly Areva) operates the only active uranium mine in Niger, supplying up to 17% of France’s uranium needs. While the July 2023 putsch damaged relations between Paris and Niamey, the junta has strengthened its ties with Moscow.

Russia’s nuclear company Rosatom wants to take over Orano’s uranium assets in Niger. Bloomberg reported this ambition on June 3, 2024, citing various sources in Moscow, and at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

Orano, formerly Areva, is a French firm that holds majority interests in the Somaïr mines, still in operation, and Cominak, a mine closed more than two years ago. The company also controls the Imouraren project, whose development was suspended in 2015 due to low uranium prices. Orano’s production accounts for between 15% and 17% of France’s uranium needs, and around a quarter of that of EU countries.

Russia taking over Orano’s assets in Niger could threaten European electricity production, France’s especially. Macron’s country gets 65% of its electricity production from nuclear power. Also, the move would bolster cooperation between Russia and Niger, to the detriment of the former colonizer, France.

The relationship between Paris and Niamey has rapidly deteriorated since the July 2023 putsch in Niger, with French troops exiting the country. Meanwhile, Russia has supplied weapons and instructors to Niamey. Last March, a Nigerian delegation attended the Atomexpo forum in Sochi, Russia’s flagship nuclear industry event.

Orano is currently Niger’s sole uranium producer, making the country the world’s 7th largest supplier of nuclear fuel. Besides the Canadian companies GoviEx Uranium and Global Atomic, which are developing major uranium projects, Niger also houses China’s National Nuclear Corporation. The latter co-owns the Société des Mines d’Azelik (SOMINA) with the Nigerien state. The Chinese company is preparing to resume uranium mining in the African country, after halting its operations for a decade due to falling prices.

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