Le mercredi 4 décembre dernier, The French uranium specialist Orano claimed that its mining subsidiary in Niger was under “operational control” the Nigerien authorities had.

The French group specializing in uranium has been subject to interference from the Nigerien authorities in recent months. The board of directors of Somaïr, the Société des Mines de l'Aïr, is 64.3% owned by Orano and 36.6% by the State of Niger. According to a statement published on Wednesday, “For several months, Orano has been alerting to the interference that the group has been subjected to in the governance of Somaïr, of which it is a majority shareholder and operator in Niger. Indeed, the decisions taken by the company's boards of directors are no longer applied and, in fact, Orano notes today that the Nigerien authorities have taken operational control of them.” Orano announced that in the face of a “greatly deteriorated” situation, its subsidiary would “suspend” its production as of October 31, for lack of being able to “continue working” in this country. Also, the group is having difficulties exporting uranium, while Niger's border with Benin is closed for security reasons.