Oil and mining industry of Niger

Mineral commodities produced in Niger included cement, coal, gold, gypsum, limestone, salt, silver, tin, and uranium.

A first audit report reconciling revenue paid by mining companies with government receipts was scheduled to be issued in late 2007.

[7][8] From the 1950s, Niger has been known to have large uranium deposits in the desert north of the Agadez Region, which is located about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) northeast of Niamey.

[2] In 1971, the first mine was opened outside Arlit and operated by SOMAIR, a national company with Areva and the government of Niger as shareholders.

COMINAK was owned by Areva NC (34%), the government of Niger(31%), Overseas Uranium Resources Development Company of Japan (25%), and Enusa industrias avanzadas, S.a. of Spain (10%).

[9] The mining activities created an economic boom in the country, as Nigerien budgets flourished in the 1970s due to record uranium prices.

The stakeholders in SOMINA are: Uranium ore mined in the Arlit area (Agadez Region) is extracted as triuranium octoxide (U3O8).

[11] The mine, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Arlit, was granted in July 2006 to Areva for an ore body originally discovered in 1969.

[2][15] It was however decided in 2014 by Areva and the government of Niger following new contract discussions that plan to launch the mine will delayed pending favorable market conditions.

Since the coup in Niger at the end of July 2023, calls for France to withdraw have never stopped due to local opposition.

In addition to raising prices, the military government also threatened to ban France from continuing to mine uranium.

In July 2024, the U.S. African Discovery Group signed a letter of intent for a uranium exploration licence for the Ouricha-3 deposit, in the Agadez Region 20 km south of the Imouraren mine.

[17] As of August 2024, Global Atomic is continuing to develop its Dasa Uranium mine and processing plant, which employs over 450 people increasing later to 900.

[25][26] The site in Djado was discovered in April 2014 and resulted in a gold rush that attracted local inhabitants of Agadez as well as prospectors from neighboring countries like Chad, Sudan and Burkina Faso.

[30] A small oil refinery with capacity of around 20,000-barrel-per-day (3,200 m3/d) was built by CNPC near Zinder, which started production in November 2011 mostly for the domestic market.