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France, Niger and its uranium

So much speculation on Nigerian uranium! Even more so in these times of anti-French feeling where the bidding goes in all directions. Exactly, what does Niger really gain from its uranium? We tried to find out. And here’s what we found.

Hold ! The most recent buzz on Niger’s uranium: 5,504 billion FCFA of revenue collected from the sale of yellow cake each year and of which Niger’s share would be 86 billion FCFA. Information to make you want to vomit! After checking, it turns out that these figures came out of the imagination of those who made them. The actual data looks like this:

 – For the Air Mines Company (SOMAIR)

For the period from 2016 to 2020 (over five consecutive years), 2,164, 2,117, 1,782, 1,912 and 1,879 tonnes were sold respectively, from which Niger achieved revenue of:

124,831,000,000 FCFA in 2016, 128,001,000,000 FCFA in 2017; 112,291,000,000 FCFA in 2018; 104,628,000,000 FCFA in 2019; and 103,251,000,000 FCFA in 2020.

 – For the Akouta Mining Company (COMINAK)

For the same period, the figures are as follows:

.in 2016, 1314 tons sold which brought in, in terms of revenue, in Niger, 63,378,000,000 FCFA;

.in 2017, 1331 tons and 60,861,000,000 FCFA in revenue;

.in 2018, 1128 tons and 54,146,000,000 FCFA in revenue;

.in 2019, 1070 tons and 46,617,000,000 FCFA in revenue;

.and in 2020, 1113 tons and 48,117,000,000 FCFA in revenue.

Over the 5 years reported above, the average revenue collected per year is: 114,600,000,000 FCFA for SOMAIR and 55,623,000,000 FCFA for COMINAK, which gives an average revenue for the two mines. annual cumulative total of 170,223,000,000 FCFA. These receipts alone exceed the 86,000,000,000 FCFA reported. This is without counting the dividends from the sale of the share taken by the Société de Patrimoine des Mines du Niger (SOPAMIN) which is based on its participation in the shares of these two mining companies and many others.

It should be noted that the sale price of uranium called “Niger Price” is negotiated between State to State, that is to say between Niger and France. It is therefore not imposed by Orano. Since 2014, a new formula has been used to determine the purchase price to mining companies by the shareholders of COMINAK and SOMAIR.

Note that French companies are not the only ones exploiting uranium in Niger. Japanese, Spanish and Chinese interests are also present in this sector, not forgetting the Canadians who hold several exploration and exploitation permits.

Source: Presidency of the Republic of Niger

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