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French nuclear fuels company Orano warned on Friday of a “deteriorating financial situation” at its Somair uranium plant in Niger, as the West African nation increasingly looks to new partners such as Russia in its mining sector.
Niger is one of the world’s leading producers of uranium, the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy, with France’s Orano a major player in the sector.
However, the business climate for international companies in the country has become uncertain after a military coup last year.
Orano said in October it had been forced to suspend production at the Somair mine in the north of Niger following last year’s closure of the main export corridor.
In its statement on Friday it said the Somair board had sought a temporary halt on mining and ore processing expenditures to preserve cash to pay salaries.
Orano owns more than 60% of the Somair mine, while Niger’s state-owned Sopamin holds the rest.
“What is being announced is in no way a cessation of operations or closing of the site, but merely the decision to place a stop on all non-essential expenditure in the current configuration,” said Orano.
It added that recent comments made by Niger’s mining minister were “damaging”.
Speaking to Russian media RIA on Wednesday, Niger’s Minister of Mines Colonel Abarchi Ousmane questioned the future of French companies in the sector.
“The French state, through its head of state, has declared that it does not recognize the current authorities in Niger. Does it seem possible to you that we, the state of Niger, would allow French companies to continue extracting our natural resources?” said Ousmane.
The minister also told RT media in a separate interview earlier this week that Sopamin had not agreed with Orano’s decision to suspend production, and that production at Somair was “ongoing”.
Ousmane added that the junta would like to see increased cooperation with Russia in the uranium sector.
France’s influence in the country is fading after Paris withdrew the last of its troops late last year.
In June, Orano said Niger had removed a mining permit for its Imouraren project.
(By Sudip Kar-Gupta, Dominique Patton and Bate Felix; Editing by Jan Harvey and David Evans)
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