A French mining company sues Niger after its director disappears and offices are raided
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — French uranium mining company Orano has sued the government of Niger after the disappearance of its director and the raiding of its local offices, as military authorities in the west African country tighten their grip on foreign companies and civil society.
'Orano deplores this intervention, for which no legal basis nor reason has been offered,' Orano said in a statement late Tuesday, accusing authorities of arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and 'unjust confiscation of the property of Nigerien companies, subsidiaries of Orano and the State of Niger itself.'
The company's director was reportedly detained earlier this month. The company says the raids in Niamey, the capital, seized staff's electronic devices and cellphones.
Niger's military authorities did not respond to a request for comment.
Orano has been operating in Niger — the world's seventh biggest supplier of uranium — for over 50 years, but last year the military authorities withdrew the company's operating permit for the Imouraren uranium mine, with reserves estimated at 200,000 tons. The authorities also took operational control of Orano's subsidiary, Somaïr, which operates the only active uranium mine in the country near the town of Arlit.
The military authorities seized power in 2023 on the pledge of cutting ties with the West and vowed to review mining concessions. Before that, Niger was the West's major economic and security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that has been a hot spot for violent extremism.
In other developments, the founder and director of the private Sahara FM radio station, Ibrahim Manzo, said Wednesday that authorities had arrested three of its staff members in the central city of Agadez and accused them of spreading fake news.
Although Niger's transitional authorities recently released political prisoners in an attempt to calm the political climate, such arrests continue.
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2 hours ago
- Associated Press
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Please visit the source: ] To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: 2025 Exploration Plans Earlier this year, the Company contracted Axiom Exploration Group Ltd. in partnership with New Resolution Geophysics to carry out a helicopter-borne Xcite time domain electromagnetic and total field magnetic survey over the Corvo Project. The survey totalled approximately 1,380 line-kms with a traverse line spacing of 100 m and tie-line spacing of 1,000 m. The airborne TDEM survey outlines several kilometers of conductive anomalies and magnetic features in bedrock, effectively enhancing the resolution of the conductive trends on the project. The magnetic survey component of the TDEM survey contributes to definition of potential fault systems and structural trends not previously identified across the project related to historical uranium showings at surface and in historical drill holes. 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Please visit the source: ] To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Qualified Person Statement The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Sean Hillacre, President and VP Exploration of the Company and a 'qualified person' as defined in NI 43-101. Historical data disclosed in this news release relating to sampling results from previous operators are historical in nature. Neither the Company nor a qualified person has yet verified this data and therefore investors should not place undue reliance on such data. The Company's future exploration work may include verification of the data. The Company considers historical results to be relevant as an exploration guide and to assess the mineralization as well as economic potential of exploration projects. Any historical grab samples disclosed are selected samples and may not represent true underlying mineralization. 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Associated Press
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Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'believes', 'intends', 'estimates', 'potential', 'possible', and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results 'will', 'may', 'could', or 'should' occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: obtaining financing, completion, delivery and timing of project components and requirements, and analysis and assumptions related thereto. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, technical, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the timing, completion and delivery of required permits, supply arrangements and financing. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. 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