(Reuters) – Orano announced on Saturday that maintenance activities had been anticipated at the Somaïr mining site in Niger due to the dwindling of its stocks of chemicals.
“The mine is still in full activity and the plant has been temporarily put into early maintenance operation,” said the French nuclear fuel specialist.
Maintenance operations were initially scheduled to start in early 2024, said Orano, adding that Somaïr was keeping its employees and some of its subcontractors active.
Somaïr (Société des mines de l’Aïr) – 63.4% owned by Orano and 36.66% by Sopamin (Société du patrimoine des mines du Niger) – exploits several uranium deposits near the city of Arlit, in northern Niger.
Bloomberg News reported Friday that Orano, formerly Areva, had its production of uranium concentrate in its Somaïr plant due to international sanctions taken against the military junta after the military coup of 26 July.
Niger’s uranium and oil reserves give it an important economic and strategic interest in the eyes of the United States, Europe, China and Russia.
(Reporting Ashitha Shivaprasad; Camille Raynaud)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
