Niger uranium deposits
Niger has significant uranium deposits, making it one of the world’s largest uranium producers. The country’s uranium mines are mainly located in the northern Arlit region. The largest uranium deposits are found in the following mines:
SOMAÏR (Société des Mines de l’Aïr) - This mine, located near the city of Arlit, is operated by a joint venture between Orano (63.4%) and Sopamin (36.66%). It is an open-pit horizontal sedimentary deposit, 165-230 feet deep, with a production capacity of 2,000 to 2,500 tons of uranium per year.
COMINAK (Compagnie Minière d’Akouta) - This mine, also located near Arlit, was operated by a joint venture between Orano (34%), Sopamin (31%), and other partners. It produced 75,000 tonnes of uranium from 1978 to 2021 but has since been closed.
Imouraren mine
This is a uranium mining project involving French company Orano and SOPaMin (Société du Patrimoine des Mines du Niger on behalf of the government of Niger). An operating permit was issued in 2009, and excavations began in 2012. However, the project was suspended in 2015 due to low uranium prices in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Niger’s uranium production accounts for 4% of the global production, with the largest producers being Kazakhstan, Canada, Namibia, and Australia. Despite the country’s vast uranium reserves, the people of Niger have faced chronic hunger and malnutrition, highlighting the challenges of equitably distributing the benefits of natural resources.
The USA has uranium deposits. We don’t need bases in Niger to get it. As recently as 1985, the USA mined 40 million lbs/year of the stuff
Now we mine and process basically zero. The USA built one new nuclear power plant in the last 15 years, which was 3X over-budget. Our betters in DC tell us all our electricity will now come from clean wind and energy, remember?
Besides the biggest uranium reserves in the world are in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada.