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Niger’s military government has declared it will place uranium produced by Somair on the international market, state media reported on Sunday. Somair, previously a subsidiary of French energy giant Orano before its nationalisation in June, is at the centre of growing tensions between the West African country’s junta and France.
The announcement came via Tele Sahel, Niger’s state broadcaster, which cited comments from junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani. Tiani asserted Niger’s sovereign right to manage and sell its natural resources independently, stating that the country would now be free to sell uranium to any buyer under market conditions.
The move underscores Niger’s increasingly close ties with Russia, which has expressed interest in mining uranium in the country. Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev revealed in July that Moscow aimed to invest in Niger’s uranium sector, while the junta has sought military and strategic support from Russia in its fight against domestic jihadist insurgencies.
Relations with France, Niger’s former colonial power, have deteriorated sharply since the 2023 coup. The junta has accused Paris of backing separatist movements, prompting Niger to revoke Orano’s operational control of its main uranium mines – Somair, Cominak and Imouraren – in 2024. Orano, which retains a 60 percent ownership stake, has launched multiple arbitration efforts to reclaim management rights.
Niger is a key player in the global uranium market. In 2022, the country supplied approximately a quarter of the natural uranium used in European nuclear power plants, according to the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Analysts say the latest decision to open sales to the wider market could have significant implications for global nuclear energy supply and international diplomatic relations.
