• Niger starts selling Somaïr’s uranium despite a binding ICSID ruling obtained by Orano.

• Niamey is reported to have reached a deal with Russia’s Rosatom for 1,000 tons of yellowcake.

• The junta says it is exercising its “legitimate right” after nationalizing Orano’s 63.4% stake in June 2025.

Niger has begun selling production from Somaïr, the uranium mining company that the state nationalized in June after stripping French nuclear group Orano of its 63.4% stake. The move defies an interim ruling secured by Orano at the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal, which barred any sale or transfer of Somaïr’s output.

State broadcaster RTN aired a report on Nov. 30 in which the government asserted its “legitimate right to dispose of its natural resources.”

The broadcaster said the ruling military leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, reaffirmed Niger’s authority to sell uranium “to whoever wishes to buy it, in accordance with market rules and in full independence.”

“Niger is putting its own production on the international market,” the report quoted him as saying, criticizing France for opposing the move.

Orano said on Nov. 27 that a shipment of uranium left the Somaïr site, although it could not confirm the quantity. The company said the operation violates the injunction issued in September by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which ordered Niger not to “sell, transfer or facilitate the transfer” of Somaïr’s production.

Orano added that it “reserves the right to initiate additional actions, including criminal proceedings,” in response to the sale. However, the likelihood of a favorable outcome has diminished as Niger signals it will not comply with the ICSID decision.

Global interest in Nigerien uranium has increased in recent months, with Iran and Turkey among the countries reported in international media as potential buyers. French newspaper Le Monde, citing officials within the French administration, reported that Niger has reached an agreement with Russia’s Rosatom to sell 1,000 tons of yellowcake. Niger’s Ministry of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with Rosatom in July 2025, although details of the partnership remain undisclosed.

Tensions between Niger and Orano escalated after General Tiani seized power in a 2023 coup. Niger initially blocked Orano’s exports, then removed the group’s operational control over the Arlit site, and finally nationalized Somaïr in 2025. Niamey said the decision corrected an imbalanced partnership, asserting that Orano had taken 86.3% of all uranium commercialized from the mine since operations began in 1971 more than its equity stake.

Orano countered, through comments reported by Reuters, that successive Nigerien governments often declined to exercise their purchase rights, especially when nuclear fuel prices fell.

The World Nuclear Association ranks Niger as the world’s eighth-largest uranium producer. The country extracted 1,130 tons in 2023, representing 2% of global supply.

This article was initially published in French by Emiliano Tossou

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum