The Paris prosecutor has opened a probe into organised gang theft, in the interests of a foreign power, after uranium went missing from a site in Niger previously operated by French nuclear fuel group Orano.
Uranium has been at the centre of a standoff between Orano (formerly Areva) and the Nigerien authorities since the military junta seized power in a coup in July 2023.
Somaïr, a subsidiary of Orano, operated the deposit in Arlit in northern Niger until June 2024 when it was nationalised by the junta.
At the end of November, the Orano group warned in a statement that a shipment had left the Arlit mining site, where 1,300 tonnes of uranium were stockpiled.
Orano points to a court ruling in September that deemed the State of Niger has no right to sell, transfer or facilitate the transfer of uranium produced by Somaïr, 63.4 percent of which was owned by Orano prior to nationalisation.
Russian interest
The current complaint dates back to 18 August – before the start of the uranium transport – the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed to RFI.
In November, during a visit to northern Niger, the head of the junta General Abdourahamane Tiani stated his intention to sell the Somair uranium, considering that it now belonged to the Nigerien people.
He defended “Niger’s legitimate right to dispose of its natural wealth, to sell it to whoever wishes to buy it, under market rules, in full independence”, adding that Niger was turning to new partners, such as Iran or Russia.
In July, Moscow said it intended to exploit Nigerien uranium.
Russia's energy minister, accompanied by representatives of Russian uranium industry giants, has visited Niamey to discuss development and partnerships in the oil and mining sectors.
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Unknown quantity
According to Wamaps, a group of West African journalists specialising in security news in the Sahel, 1,000 tonnes of non-enriched uranium are said to have left Arlit, with the first part of the convoy – 34 lorries – parked in early December near Niamey airport.
AFP has confirmed that 34 lorries arrived in an area of the airport between 3 and 5 December, with satellite images confirming the vehicles were still there on 18 December.
Wamaps claims the second part of the convoy (20 lorries) arrived in Niamey on 4 December and the convoy is expected to travel to the port of Lomé in Togo, via Burkina Faso.
Orano told AFP it did not know the quantity of uranium concerned, the destination or the identity of any potential buyers.
The group said, however, that it comes from stock stored at the Somaïr mining site, produced when Orano was still the operator – a stock of “nearly 1,600 tonnes of mineral concentrates” ... “with a market value of nearly 310 million dollars”.
Since losing operational control of its three mining subsidiaries in the country in December 2024, Orano, which is more than 90 percent owned by the French state, has launched several international arbitration proceedings against Niger.
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Niger is the world's seventh-largest producer of uranium – used to make nuclear fuel and equipment for treating cancer.
France, which relies on nuclear power for 70 percent of its electricity, sourced about 15 percent of its uranium from Niger when the West African nation's mines were in full operation.
(with AFP)
