Niger’s mines minister has said the country also wants to cooperate with Moscow to develop its uranium reserves

Niger's Minister of Mines, Ousmane Abarchi. ©  Sputnik/Sergey Bulkin

Niger has announced plans to build two nuclear reactors in partnership with Russian state energy corporation Rosatom, a project its mines minister said is “very important” for the entire African continent.

Speaking at the Global Atomic Forum in Moscow on Thursday, Ousmane Abarchi said the proposed plants – with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts – would be developed under the supervision of the UN nuclear regulator, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Yes, we have big ambitions,” he told the gathering, while also proposing cooperation with Russia to develop the West African country’s uranium reserves.

“I am convinced that developing uranium deposits is a responsibility to the world... We would like to develop this cooperation with the Russia,” the minister said.

Niger is the world’s eighth-largest producer of uranium, accounting for about 5% of global output from some of Africa’s highest-grade ores, according to recent World Nuclear Association rankings. The country supplied more than a quarter of the European Union’s needs in 2022, Euratom data show, including nearly 1.9 million kg shipped to France. The exports are a key source of fuel for France’s nuclear reactors, meeting about 15% to 17% of the uranium used in its electricity generation.

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However, since coming to power in a July 2023 coup, Niger’s military authorities have taken steps they say are meant to reinforce sovereignty and speed up the country’s drive for energy independence. In June, Niamey nationalized Somair, a uranium venture operated by French state-owned nuclear fuel company Orano since 1971. The government said the move would ensure healthier, more sustainable management of the company and allow Nigeriens to benefit more fully from the country’s mineral wealth.

 

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On Thursday, Interfax quoted Niger’s mines minister as saying Niamey wants its “global technological partners, first and foremost Rosatom,” to help develop new mining projects based on “innovation, transparency and longevity.”

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Rosatom chief Aleksey Likhachev reportedly described the Nigerien proposals as “extremely interesting.”

Earlier in July, Russia and Niger formalized plans to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including construction of a power-generation facility in the Sahel state, where nearly 80% of the population lacks access to electricity.