Niger Begins Selling its Uranium Globally

Niger’s military regime has announced it will put uranium produced by the nationalised Somair mine—previously a subsidiary of the French company Orano—on the international market.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the junta that seized power in 2023, claimed this move is Niger’s “legitimate right to dispose of its natural riches” and sell them to any interested buyer “in complete independence.”

This announcement escalates the ongoing conflict between the junta and Orano, which lost operational control of its key Nigerien mines in 2024.

Following the coup, Niger has severed ties with former colonial power France and turned instead to nations like Russia, which has expressed interest in mining uranium in the West African country.

Niger’s role in global uranium supply is significant, accounting for roughly a quarter of the natural uranium supplied to European nuclear power plants in 2022.