Orano announced last Friday the resumption of its activities in Niger. The French nuclear fuel group has announced its results for 2023.

Orano was arrested in September following the coup that took place in July in Niger. The group said last Friday that it had obtained “a certain number of reagents” allowing it to restart its Somaïr factory. In reality, the Somaïr uranium processing plant, a subsidiary of Orano, had reduced its production and then was placed under early maintenance in early September. Thus, the site was facing the exhaustion of stocks of chemical reagents essential to maintaining its production, due to the closure of the borders of countries neighbouring Niger.

Moreover, as a result of the disturbances, the plant produced in 2023, 1,100 tons of uranium concentrate instead of the expected 1,800 tons, in a global uranium market estimated at 70,000 tons per year. The group announced a net profit group share of 217 million euros in 2023, compared to a loss of 377 million euros in 2022.