One week after the military coup in Niger led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, France completed the evacuation of 600 French nationals on Wednesday, August 2. This uncertain political context is also beginning to raise economic concerns.
In France, fears are particularly focused on the exploitation of uranium from Niger, and the possible consequences of this energy independence. A natural resource essential to the operation of French nuclear power plants, uranium mined in Niger has been exploited for over four decades by the French nuclear fuel cycle group Orano (formerly Areva).
The multinational, which is 90% owned by the French state, operates three mines in Niger, only one of which is currently in production:
For the time being, Orano has announced that it will continue its mining activities, despite the putsch in Niger. "To date, activities at the operational sites in Arlit and at the headquarters in Niamey are continuing with an adapted organization in the context of the curfew in place throughout Niger," the group announced on its website on Thursday, August 3.
To operate the fifty-six nuclear reactors in France's eighteen power plants, operator EDF requires an average of around 8,000 tons of natural uranium every year. Following the cessation of mining on French soil in the early 2000s, France turned to several countries simultaneously for its supplies. The diversification of suppliers is a source of security for EDF.
Over the last ten years, the 88,200 tonnes of natural uranium imported into France came mainly from three countries: Kazakhstan (27%), Niger (20%), and Uzbekistan (19%). Niger plays an important role in France's supplies, but its importance is overestimated by some politicians.
On a global scale, however, "Niger has become a secondary producer over the years, as production costs are high and prices slumped until 2016 after [the nuclear accident at] Fukushima," explained Teva Meyer, a lecturer at the University of Haute-Alsace and researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, to French newspaper Les Echos. By 2022, Niger accounted for just 4% of global production, well behind Kazakhstan (43%), Canada (15%), Namibia (11%), and Australia (8%).
Kazakhstan, the world's largest uranium producer
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.