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Business Insider
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
French nuclear company considers Niger asset sale after ties with junta turn sour
French state-owned nuclear fuel company Orano is considering selling its uranium assets in Niger. French nuclear company Orano is considering selling its uranium assets in Niger. Orano filed a legal complaint against the illegal detention of its staff and confiscation of its properties in Niger. The dispute intensified when Niger's military authorities took control of the Somair uranium mine and revoked Orano's mining permit in 2024. French state-owned nuclear fuel company Orano is considering selling its uranium assets in Niger, following the deterioration of its relationship with the country's military government. The development comes after months of strained ties between Orano and Niger's junta, which seized power in a 2023 coup, the Financial Times reported. Orano operates three uranium mines in Niger through a joint venture with the government. The company said that, since the 2023 coup that ousted the pro-Western administration, Niger has blocked uranium exports and stopped fulfilling its financial obligations as a joint venture partner. On Tuesday, Orano announced it had filed a legal complaint in Niger over what it described as the "arbitrary arrest, illegal detention, and unjust confiscation of property" affecting its staff and operations in the country. One key concern involves Orano's mining director in Niger, Ibrahim Courmo, who was reportedly detained by the General Directorate of External Documentation and Surveillance, the country's intelligence agency. The company has said it has been unable to contact him since his detention. Loss of key mining assets Tensions escalated further in December 2023, when Niger's military authorities assumed control of the Somair uranium mine, in which Orano holds a 63% stake, with the remaining share owned by the government. In June 2024, the junta also revoked a mining permit held by Orano's subsidiary, Imouraren. Despite the setbacks, Orano said it remains focused on the international arbitration process initiated to resolve the dispute. In a statement to Reuters, the company acknowledged that "several parties have expressed their interest in the group's mining assets in Niger and are free to submit offers if they wish to." Shift mining rules and loyalties Since exiting ECOWAS, Niger, along with Burkina Faso and Mali, has adopted new mining codes that give their governments a greater share of mining revenues and larger ownership stakes in resource projects. The three countries have increasingly distanced themselves from Western powers, particularly France, while deepening ties with Russia.
Reuters
17-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
France's Orano explores sale of Niger uranium assets, FT reports
May 17 (Reuters) - French state-owned nuclear fuel company Orano is exploring the sale of its uranium assets in Niger after the breakdown of its relationship with the west African country's military rulers, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing multiple people familiar with the matter. The uranium miner said on Tuesday that it had filed a lawsuit with the Niger courts over the "arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and unjust confiscation of property" involving its staff and assets in the country. Orano said it had been unable to contact its mining director in Niger, Ibrahim Courmo, who was taken to the headquarters of the country's external intelligence agency, the General Directorate of External Documentation and Surveillance, sources told Reuters earlier this month. In early December last year Orano said Niger's military-led government, which seized power in a coup in 2023, had taken control of the Somair mine, of which Orano owns about 63%, with the government holding the remaining stake. The company also had a mining permit for its subsidiary Imouraren stripped in June 2024. Orano did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Orano declined to comment on the sales process to the Financial Times, but in a statement to the paper said that "several parties have expressed their interests for the mining assets of the group in Niger and are at liberty to submit offers if they wish to". Reuters could not immediately confirm the FT report.
TimesLIVE
13-05-2025
- TimesLIVE
France's Orano files lawsuit over staff detention in Niger
French nuclear fuels company Orano said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit with the courts of Niger over the "arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and unjust confiscation of property" involving its staff and assets in the country. Orano's mining director in Niger, Ibrahim Courmo, has reportedly been taken to headquarters of the country's external intelligence agency, the General Directorate of External Documentation and Surveillance. Orano has not received official information regarding Courmo's status, the company said.
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Reuters
France's Orano files lawsuit over staff detention in Niger
May 13 (Reuters) - French nuclear fuels company Orano said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit with the courts of the Republic of Niger over the "arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and unjust confiscation of property" involving its staff and assets in the country. Orano's mining director in Niger, Ibrahim Courmo, has reportedly been taken to headquarters of the country's external intelligence agency, the General Directorate of External Documentation and Surveillance. Orano has not received official information regarding Courmo's status, the company said.
Russia Today
07-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Niger seizes equipment from French uranium miner
Niger's security forces have raided the offices of French state-owned miner Orano's local subsidiaries and seized equipment, including mobile phones, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The company's local director, Ibrahim Courmo, was reportedly arrested following the search in the West African nation's capital, Niamey, on Monday. 'On Monday, May 5, it appears that Nigerien law enforcement officers intervened at the headquarters of the Somair, Cominak, and Orano Mining Niger subsidiaries in Niamey, with equipment seized,' the company told Reuters. 'We are very concerned about the situation, as we have not been able to contact the Orano representative in Niger at this stage,' it added. The company noted that it had 'very limited' information due to losing operational control of the subsidiaries in December. The raid comes amid tensions between Niger's military-led government and the French state-owned nuclear fuel company. In June 2024, Niamey revoked the license of Orano, which had allowed it to operate the Imouraren mine, one of the world's largest uranium mines, in northern Niger. In December 2024, Orano announced that Nigerien authorities had taken operational control of its Somair uranium mine in the northern Arlit region, where Orano holds a 63.4% stake and the Nigerien state owns the remainder. Niger is the world's seventh-largest uranium producer, accounting for approximately 5% of global output, according to the World Nuclear Association. The country's uranium exports are a significant source of fuel for France's nuclear reactors, supplying about 15%–17% of the uranium used in French electricity generation. Since the military coup in July 2023, Niger's transitional authorities have been reviewing foreign mining concessions and security agreements. Last July, Canada's GoviEx Uranium announced that its mining permit had been withdrawn by the former French colony's government. The Sahel state's allies, Mali and Burkina Faso, have also been stepping up pressure on foreign mining companies in recent years as part of efforts to make more revenue from the extractive sector to boost state income. Mali passed a new mining code in 2023 that allows the military government to own up to 30% of any new projects. It has since been embroiled in a dispute with Canadian miner Barrick Gold and Australia's Resolute Mining over unpaid revenues.
