The French nuclear fuel specialist has reported a loss of 133 million euros for the first half of the year, according to results presented on Friday.
This contrasts with the first quarter of 2023 when the company posted a net profit of 117 million euros.
This year, however, the company is facing difficulties. One major issue is Niger’s decision in June to strip the company of the Imouraren mine, the largest in the world, with estimated reserves of 200,000 tons.
Additionally, Somair, the subsidiary 63% owned by Orano, is struggling to export uranium from its Arlit operations in northern Niger. This is due to an export ban imposed by the military government in Niamey, which has been in power for a year.
In response to these challenges, the company was forced to sell its uranium production, originally intended to finance the closure of the site.
Background
In June 2024, the Nigerien military government revoked the operating license of French nuclear fuel producer Orano.
This move heightened the escalating tensions between the military government, which assumed power through a coup in July 2023, and France, the former colonial power.
The military, which took control of Niger with promises to sever ties with Western influences, has pledged to reassess mining concessions and demanded the withdrawal of Western troops.
Orano was instructed to cease operations at the Imouraren mine in northern Niger, a site rich with an estimated 200,000 tonnes of uranium crucial for nuclear energy production.
Development at the mine, initially scheduled to begin in 2015, was halted due to a drop in global uranium prices following the 2011 Japanese nuclear disaster. Despite efforts to resume work, Niger had warned that the license would expire on June 19 if operations did not restart.
Orano stated that the license was revoked “despite the resumption of activities on site, according to their expressed expectations.”
The Nigerien mining ministry, in a letter dated June 20 and obtained by the Associated Press, criticized Orano’s exploitation plan as inadequate, leading to the mine’s return to the public domain and removal of all contractual rights.
Since the junta’s rise to power, Niger has been distancing itself from France, expelling the French ambassador and ordering the withdrawal of French troops in December. The junta has been strengthening ties with Russia.
Orano, which has operated in Niger for over 50 years, expressed a willingness to maintain communication with the military authorities but reserved the right to pursue legal action against the license revocation in national or international courts.