In the arid heart of Niger’s Sahara, near the mining town of Arlit, the French company Orano (formerly Areva) continues to extract one of the world’s most strategic resources: uranium. This radioactive metal, essential for nuclear power generation, lies at the center of a growing controversy surrounding France’s role in Niger, especially after the 2023 military coup that upended the country’s political ties with its former colonial ruler.
Despite France being asked to withdraw its troops and severing diplomatic ties, Orano remains operational, extracting uranium through its local subsidiary, SOMAÏR (Société des Mines de l’Aïr). This continuing presence raises urgent questions about economic sovereignty, post-colonial exploitation, and the broader theme of resource control in Africa.
Niger: Rich in Uranium, Poor in Electricity
Niger ranks among the world’s top producers of uranium, an indispensable element in nuclear energy production. However, more than 80% of Niger’s population lives in poverty, and over 60% of its citizens lack access to electricity. This paradox exemplifies the injustice of resource extraction that benefits foreign powers while leaving local populations in deprivation.
Since the 1970s, French companies have held a dominant role in Niger’s uranium industry. Orano, through its partnerships and subsidiaries such as SOMAÏR and the now-closed COMINAK, has maintained exclusive access to uranium mines. Even after France’s political and military departure from Niger, uranium continues to flow out of the country — directly into the French nuclear energy grid.
🔗 Friends of the Earth: Uranium Mining in Africa
Orano: A Corporate Colonial Power?
While many assume Orano is a public French company, the reality is more complex. Although the French government owns about 45% of Orano, the rest is held by various private investors. Yet Orano still enjoys full support from the French state, including diplomatic backing and security guarantees — blurring the lines between state interest and corporate power.
Orano’s continued presence in Niger, even after France’s expulsion, exposes a loophole in what some now call “corporate colonialism”. The French military may be gone, but the economic extraction machine continues — without local accountability or fair profit-sharing.
🔗 France-Africa Economic Relations
France Lights Up With Niger’s Uranium, While Niger Lives in the Dark
An estimated 30% of France’s nuclear energy is powered by uranium mined in Niger. Paradoxically, most of Niger remains without basic electricity. This stark inequality underscores the neo-colonial dynamics at play.
Why has Orano — operating in Niger for nearly five decades — not invested in local power infrastructure? Why do Nigerien communities near the mines suffer from poor health and environmental degradation, while French cities thrive off their resources?
The Language of Investment, The Reality of Exploitation
Proponents of foreign mining operations often invoke the language of “investment,” “development,” and “job creation.” But in practice, uranium mining in Niger has resulted in long-term environmental damage, displacement of local populations, and minimal reinvestment in the communities affected.
Instead of true partnerships, countries like Niger are subjected to exploitative contracts that prioritize foreign interests and lock African governments into cycles of debt, dependency, and underdevelopment.
🔗 Neo-Colonialism in Francophone Africa
Can the New Niger Government Reclaim Its Resources?
Since the military junta took power in 2023, Niger has taken a bold stance in redefining its international alliances. It expelled French troops, suspended aid agreements, and began forging new ties with Russia, China, and Turkey. Yet, despite its assertiveness, the junta has not yet nationalized uranium mines or challenged Orano’s legal claims.
Why? There are multiple barriers:
- Threats of international sanctions from France and the EU
- Lack of local technical expertise to run uranium extraction
- Fear of investor flight and economic retaliation
Still, national sentiment is rising, and many Nigeriens are demanding full sovereignty over natural resources as a non-negotiable element of political independence.
The Role of France: Partner or Perpetuator?
While France portrays itself as a historical ally of Africa, its role in Niger tells a different story. Orano’s uranium deals are part of a larger web of economic dependency, where African nations are encouraged to export raw materials in exchange for loans, infrastructure projects, or political protection.
This model, critics argue, reproduces the same logic of colonial extraction — only now under the umbrella of globalization, liberal markets, and free trade.
🔗UN Africa Renewal: Mining and Sustainable Development
Looking Ahead: What Alternatives Exist?
If Niger truly wishes to break free from France’s economic grip, it must look beyond traditional Western partnerships. Possible steps include:
- Forming regional resource alliances with Mali and Burkina Faso
- Establishing transparent contracts with new international partners
- Investing in local universities and technical institutes to build capacity
- Demanding technology transfer from mining firms
- Rewriting mining codes to prioritize social responsibility and environmental protection
Such steps are not only possible but necessary to secure Africa’s economic future.
🔗 Regional Cooperation in West Africa
Uranium, Orano, and the Bigger Picture
The story of Orano in Niger is more than just a corporate case study. It exemplifies the ongoing struggle for African economic independence, decades after colonialism was officially ended.
It poses essential questions:
- Who really controls Africa’s resources?
- Why do foreign companies still enjoy unrestricted access to critical minerals?
- How can African nations assert themselves in the global energy market?
The answer lies in rethinking the terms of engagement, asserting ownership of the value chain, and demanding accountability from foreign investors — not just in Niger, but across the continent.
Conclusion: Sovereignty Is More Than Just Flags
As African nations rethink their place in the world, reclaiming control over strategic resources like uranium is a top priority. True sovereignty isn’t just about having a flag or national anthem — it’s about controlling what lies beneath the soil and ensuring those resources serve the people, not foreign shareholders.
For Niger, the road ahead will be long and full of geopolitical challenges. But the fight for resource justice and post-colonial autonomy is one that must be waged — and won — if the promise of independence is ever to be fulfilled.
this post by : www.africacapitaldigest.com
